Everland’s baby panda Fu Bao, whose name was made public in our last update, is now finally walking! As baby pandas develop strength in their front legs first, she used to be seen crawling and dragging herself around propped up on her front paws with her hind legs coming along behind her. But lately she has been hard at work, practicing standing up and walking by using the newfound strength in her hind legs.
Until recently, Fu Bao spent 23 hours a day sleeping. That means just one hour of activity per day, but lately her sleeping time has gone down by one or two hours.
With her increase in wakeful time, Fu Bao’s curiosity and playfulness have also grown. While awake, she plays with her mother Ai Bao or even zookeepers, reaching for them with her little paws, interrupting what they are doing or surprising them by making loud noises. See for example this video:
At the same time, her expressions of independence and self-assertiveness are also growing further. Occasionally, she will reject her mother Ai Bao’s attempts to put her to sleep and wriggle out of the maternal embrace. Then, when Ai Bao is fast asleep, Fu Bao is wide awake, gamboling around the room or playing by herself. She is now also able to go to the toilet without her mother’s watchful eye.
Fu Bao greets the world
Meanwhile, Fu Bao also started adapting to her wider environment. Every afternoon after Everland’s Panda World closed, she came out with her mother Ai Bao and explored the outside world. With eyes full of curiosity, she touched and smelled things, and rolled over to play in the dirt.
Giant panda cubs are born very early in their physical development, so Fu Bao took some time for her immune system to grow stronger before being introduced to the outside world. Ai Bao also needed some care after giving birth to Fu Bao.
Bamboo is becoming an object of interest for Fu Bao, as she increasingly bites or pulls at the stalks. Pandas usually start eating bamboo when they are around six months old. Fu Bao was born in July last year, so it will not be long before we can witness her taking her first bites of bamboo!
As Fu Bao’s walking skills have developed, she has begun running from place to place, showing off her mischievous side. Ai Bao’s life has become busy just trying to keep an eye on her energetic young daughter, making sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.
With the arrival of a new year, Fu Bao made her public debut. Those who have made reservations are allowed to see her under the strict supervision of her zookeepers, while the rest of us can keep up with her adventures here in the Samsung C&T Newsroom.
