Since there is a lot of trending panda news on Chinese social media recently, it is perhaps time to introduce a special Panda News category on What’s on Weibo to give you more regular updates on all the trending panda topics, including the controversies and politics surrounding them.
What’s been trending recently? There has been a lot of panda-related news. The following topics have been trending over the past week.
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︎ XIANGXIANG IS BACK FROM JAPAN
︎ XIANGXIANG IS BACK FROM JAPANHashtags: #香香回国是为寻找合适伴侣#，#终于看到香香了#
Earlier last week, news of China’s female giant panda Xiangxiang (香香) returning home to the mainland from Japan made headlines.
Xiangxiang was born in June 2017 at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Because her parents Riri and Shinshin are both on loan, China maintains ownership of their cubs.
Xiangxiang is planned to be part of a breeding project in Chengdu. Female pandas are said to reach breeding age between 3,5 and 4,5 years, and Xiangxiang is back in time to meet her partner.
“Welcome home, Xiangxiang,” was one of the most popular replies in the comment sections on the panda’s return to China.
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︎ PANDA QIQI IS UNDERGOING SURGERY
Hashtags: #七七确诊肠梗阻将进行手术#, #熊猫七七#
Panda Qiqi (七七), one of the famous pandas living in the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, has recently attracted attention on Chinese social media as many netizens are concerned about the panda’s health.
The 4-year-old panda recently had a CT scan that showed there was an intestinal blockage, and the panda was rushed to hospital for surgery.
Born on 17 July of 2018, Qiqi is the 14th cub of mother panda Princess. Princess was born in 1998, and she was the first giant panda in the world that was brought up by people right after its birth.
Qiqi was admitted to Shanghai’s Renji Hospital (仁济医院南院). When one of the medical staff members saw “Panda” coming up on the patient records, they initially thought it was just a funny name before discovering it was actually a real panda (#三甲医院有位患者叫熊猫是真熊猫#, #男子在医院遇到熊猫拍CT#).
“Qiqi, please get well soon!” a typical comment on social media said.
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︎ WORRIES OVER SHANGHAI WILD ANIMAL PARK
Hashtags: #上海野生动物园多次抽查发现问题#, #上海野生动物园曾回应多只熊猫病死#
The online worries over panda Qiqi are connected to wider concerns over Shanghai Wild Animal Park (上海野生动物园), which has also become a trending news topic on Chinese social media.
The Shanghai Wild Animal Park, founded in 1995, was previously slapped on the wrist after inspections found the zoo did not comply with all regulations. They also received a 200,000 yuan ($29,100) fine in 2020 for their liability in the injuries and deaths of animals at the park.
A total of six pandas have reportedly died at the park since it opened. In 2016, mother panda Guoguo and her cub Peanut both fell ill and died in December of that year. Both pandas suffered from an acute inflammatory disease affecting the intestines.
Besides Guoguo and Peanut, the pandas Jiasi, Guoqing, Wuyang and Yunhui also died in the park in between 2007-2016. Jiasi was the only one who died due to old age.
Chinese netizens are also concerned over one particular zookeeper, named as Zhang Xin (张鑫), who previously could be seen bullying and hitting a panda cub nicknamed Huani (华妮, now known as Aibao 爱宝). Surveillance videos showing how he handled the little panda also circulated on social media. Zhang allegedly also took care of Guohuo and Peanut at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.
Most of all, Weibo commenters，and also those on the Douyin and Xiaohongshu apps, just want answers on the Shanghai Wild Animal Park and want to make sure the pandas and other animals are well taken care of.
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︎ PANDA YAYA NOT DOING WELL AT MEMPHIS ZOO?
Hashtags: #网友呼吁提前接旅美大熊猫丫丫回国#， #北京动物园已做足准备迎接丫丫#
More panda news sparked concerns this week. At the Memphis Zoo in the state of Tennessee, the seemingly deteriorating condition of the giant panda Yaya (丫丫) also became a trending topic on social media this week. As reported by Global Times, Ya Ya arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 2003 as a part of a joint conservation and research project between the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and the U.S. with an agreement duration of 10 years, which was extended by 10 more years in 2013.
Yaya arrived in Memphis together with male partner Lele (乐乐), who suddenly died at the zoo earlier last month at the age of 25 due to heart disease. Pandas can reach an age of approximately 30 years; the oldest known panda reached the age of 35.
Yaya has apparently been suffering from hair loss and looked skinny; her condition has triggered online rumors that the Memphis Zoo was not properly taking care of her. Her return to China is scheduled to take place in early April of this year, but netizens have been calling for Yaya to come back to China at an earlier time. “Give her back to us!” some commenters wrote.
Meanwhile, some netizens have closely been following the live streams of Memphis Zoo showing Yaya’s room and were happy to see she was back to eating bamboo and seemed to have a good appetite.
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︎ PANDA POLITICS: CHINA’S PANDAS IN RUSSIA ARE “DOING GREAT”
Hashtags: #旅俄大熊猫画风突变体重狂飙40公斤#, #俄罗斯养的大熊猫相当炸裂#
In the context of the recent news of Yaya seemingly not doing all too great at the Memphis Zoo, there have also been several Chinese media reports on how well China’s pandas are doing at the zoo in Moscow. Ruyi (如意) and Dingding (丁丁) are rolling, slinging, pulling, and moving around while gaining plenty of weight at the Russian zoo.
One post about the pandas thriving in Russia – compared to the less frivolous situation of China’s panda in the U.S. – attracted over 342,000 likes and thousands of comments on Weibo, where some top commenters concluded that the panda treatment in Russia versus the U.S. was like a “kind stepmother” (Russia) versus a “ruthless stepmother” (U.S.).
“Look at the contrast with Yaya in Memphis,” some Weibo users write, while others suggest that Russia has been putting in a lot of work for the pandas by building a special pavilion, setting up a special expert communication team with China, and flying in bamboo from the mainland.
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By Manya Koetse
with contributions by Miranda Barnes
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The post Meanwhile in Panda News: Concerns over China’s Giant Panda Yaya in Memphis, while Ruyi Is Rocking It in Russia appeared first on What's on Weibo.