Panda cub Le Le plays with snow for 1st time at China conservation centre

He went for the bamboo shoots first, before inspecting the snow.

Ashley Tan | February 05, 2024, 07:37 PM

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Panda cub Le Le arrived safely in Chengdu, China, on Jan. 16.

After being quarantined for 30 days, he is now in the hands of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.

On Jan. 30, the facility shared a glimpse of Le Le in his new environment via a clip on Douyin.

The centre is 1,200m above sea level, and the temperature at the time was a very low 2°C. As such, the area was covered in a blanket of snow.

The video showed one of Le Le's keepers scooping snow into a bucket, and dumping it into Le Le's enclosure for the bear to inspect curiously.

The bucket of snow was accompanied by some bamboo shoots for Le Le, and as expected, the panda attended to the treats first.

Gif from 中国大熊猫保护研究中心 / Douyin

After finishing off the snacks, Le Le pawed at the powdery material before chomping on it experimentally.

Gif from 中国大熊猫保护研究中心 / Douyin

According to the video's caption, Le Le is still adapting to the cold temperatures of Huaying Mountain, where the centre is located at.

Due to the frigid weather, Le Le's outdoor activities were put on hold.

As such, his keepers brought in some snow for him to play with.

More about Le Le

Panda diplomacy has been a practice where the Chinese government would gift pandas to other countries as a gesture of goodwill and cultivate positive international relations.

Le Le's parents, Jia Jia and Kai Kai, first arrived in Singapore in 2012 under a ten-year agreement with China.

Le Le is thus the first giant panda cub to be born in Singapore.

Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed, and as part of the agreement with China, foreign-born cubs need to return home at around two years old to improve conservation efforts.

Top photo from 中国大熊猫保护研究中心 / Douyin