For the first time in the country, the Everland giant panda sisters, Lui Bao and Hui Bao, celebrated their second birthday on the 7th. They are the younger pandas of Fu Bao, who relocated to the Wolong Shenshuping base in Sichuan Province, China, in April last year.
On this day, Everland held a birthday party to celebrate the twin panda sisters' second birthday with panda keepers, including Kang Cheol-won and Song Yeong-gwan, as well as invited guests at Panda World.
At the birthday party, the keepers prepared a large cake made of bamboo, which pandas like, for Lui Bao and Hui Bao.
They also gifted various enrichment toys, such as a cooled rock to help them stay cool during summer and bamboo toys.
About 40 Bao Family fans who visited the site through a pre-invitation event conducted via the Everland Cotton Candy mobile app sang a birthday song quietly. They also sent supportive messages wishing for the twins' health.
Everland also held a special event where the twin pandas received identification cards engraved with their faces and names.
Born on July 7, 2023, with weights of 180 grams and 140 grams between mother Ai Bao and father Le Bao, Lui Bao and Hui Bao currently weigh about 70 kg each, which is a 440-fold increase in two years.
This birthday is expected to be the last one the twin pandas will spend with their mother Ai Bao. Given that pandas typically become independent from their mothers after about a year and a half to two years, there are not many days left for Lui Bao and Hui Bao to stay by Ai Bao's side.
This summer, Everland will gradually increase the time the twin pandas spend apart from their mother as part of their independence training. In September,
they will be staying together in the newly opened panda second house.
Keeper Kang Cheol-won, dubbed 'Panda Grandpa,' said, "I want to express my gratitude to Ai Bao, the wonderful mom who raised Lui Bao and Hui Bao healthily, and I hope everyone sends a lot of love and support as the twins begin their challenge of becoming independent adult pandas."