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As quarantine ends, pandas ready for public viewing
On loan: Female giant panda Hu Chun is seen in her enclosure during her quarantine period at Taman Safari Indonesia in Cisarua, West Java, on Wednesday
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span class="inline inline-center">On loan: Female giant panda Hu Chun is seen in her enclosure during her quarantine period at Taman Safari Indonesia in Cisarua, West Java, on Wednesday. Along with her mate Cai Tao, Hu Chun has been lent by the Chinese government under a breeding loan program.(JP/Seto Wardhana)
A month after arriving from China, giant pandas Hu Chun and Cai Tao seem to be adapting well to their new home in the mountainous area of Cisarua, Bogor, West Java.
Hu Chun — a female — confidently displayed her belly while enjoying an abundant supply of bamboo. Meanwhile, Cai Tao, a male, spent the afternoon doing nothing but sleeping with one paw covering his face.
The furry envoys immediately captured the hearts of hundreds of visitors at Taman Safari Indonesia, Cisarua, on Wednesday — the day Hu Chun and Cai Tao were unveiled to the public.
“The pandas do not look stressed. Instead, they seem to be enjoying their new home,” said visitor Ignatia Sphati Kumala, 24, from West Jakarta. “Their living space is also proper […] It looks like their natural habitat.”
Ignatia said she appreciated Taman Safari’s readiness to care for the natives of South Central China. Hu Cun and Cai Tao are on loan from China for the next decade under an agreement commemorating 60 years of Indonesia-China bilateral ties.
The pandas, after having received celebrity treatment upon arrival in Jakarta last month, underwent an adaptation period in quarantine. They are enjoying their new life in the zoo’s Panda Castle — a Chinese-style pavilion that sits at the foot of Gunung Gede Pangrango national park.
Located 1,800 meters above sea level and surrounded by lush forests, the Panda Castle provides Hu Chun and Cai Tao with an ambience resembling that of their natural ecosystem, said Taman Safari director Jansen Manansang.
“Hu Chun and Cai Tao have finished learning to adapt here. Now we are preparing them to meet visitors,” said Jansen, adding that he was optimistic the pandas could breed in the zoo.
Any cub born from the panda couple will belong to and be handed to China, he added.
Although the Panda Castle is open to the public, it will be inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and a representative from the Chinese government at the end of November.
The Panda Castle has two houses, one for each, as pandas are solitary animals, said Bongot H. Mulia, the pandas’ vet.
“However, we will bring them together when they make special sounds that signal its time for mating,” he said, adding that in China, mating season for pandas was usually from February to May. “However, due to a difference in climate, it is expected that their mating season in Indonesia will be in June or July.”
Bongot said Hu Chun and Cai Tao were fed 20 types of bamboo grown in the castle area.
Taman Safari prepares 30 kilograms of bamboo daily for Hu Chun and Cai Tao, who weigh 135 kg and 127 kg, respectively, he added.
“They mostly eat bamboo or plants. They rarely eat meat,” he said.
Locals can enjoy attractions at Taman Safari and its Panda Castle for Rp 250,000 (US$ 18.40), while foreign visitors are charged Rp 350,000.
