Singapore's beloved pair of giant pandas just celebrated their birthdays on Sep. 14, 2019.
Kai Kai, the male panda, turned 12, while Jia Jia the female panda turned 11.
Like how most of us celebrate our birthdays by pigging out with a good meal, Kai Kai and Jia Jia enjoyed a fancy feast as well.
Longevity "noodles" for the birthday duo
"To embrace their Chinese roots", both pandas were treated to a huge platter of longevity "noodles", according to a press release by Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS).
Longevity noodles are typically eaten during birthdays for the Chinese as the long strands of the noodles symbolise long life.
The noodles the pandas received weren't real noodles, but were carrots cut up into long spirals.
Each birthday panda received 888g of the spiralised carrots, along with side dishes of apples, high fibre biscuits and bamboo shoots, all plated nicely on a bamboo platter.
Here are some pictures of Kai Kai and Jia Jia happily chomping away on their food.
Kai Kai still isn't full from the "noodle" feast, and starts munching on the bamboo platter.
Not only are the "noodles" an innovative way of repackaging the carrots, they are also a form of food-based enrichment to help stimulate the pandas' cognitive abilities.
This is the first time either panda is eating "noodles".
You can watch this video by WRS to see the pandas attempting to figure how to eat their meal.
Tokidoki at River Safari
Giant pandas typically have a lifespan of 2o years in the wild, but can live up to 30 years in captivity.
Kai Kai and Jia Jia are currently on a 10-year loan from China, and will return to their motherland in 2022.
If you're thinking of heading down to River Safari to catch a glimpse of these charismatic bears, the park is currently holding a tokidoki x River Safari campaign which will last till Oct. 31.
Visitors can look forward to taking photos with a tokidoki sculpture of Kai Kai the panda, among others.
There will also be mermaid performances taking place inside the manatee exhibit.
Young ones can also participate in a River Gem Trail to learn fun facts about the creatures at River Safari, and stand a chance to win a limited edition tokidoki x River Safari pin.
You can find more information at WRS' website here.
Top photo courtesy of WRS
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