11 July,2016 09:42 AM IST | | midday online correspondent
Panda Le Bao plays with his ice cake during a birthday event for a pair of giant pandas at South Korea's Everland Amusement and Animal Park in Yongin, south of Seoul
Panda Le Bao plays with his ice cake during a birthday event for a pair of giant pandas at South Korea's Everland Amusement and Animal Park in Yongin, south of Seoul.
Giant Panda Le Bao with his ice cake. Pics/AFP
A pair of giant pandas, a state gift to South Korea from Chinese President Xi Jinping, celebrated their birthdays at the amusement park.
Native to south central China, the giant panda (called by this name in order to distinguish it from the red panda - another panda subspecies) is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.
Although considered carnivorous, the giant panda's diet consists mainly of bamboo and those in the wild would occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. Giant panda are fed honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food, while in captivity.
Xin Xin with her cub. Pic/AFP
Last month, a handout picture released by the Macau Government Information Bureau, showed a giant panda named Xin Xin is seen coddling one of two newborn twin baby pandas at the Giant Panda Pavilion on Coloane, Macau. Xin Xin gave birth to two male twin cubs on June 26 at the Giant Panda Pavilion in Coloane, according to officials. (Read more)
Hao Hao poses with her cub. Pic/AFP
Another giant panda named Hao Hao on loan to Belgium from China, gave birth to a cub, a rare event for the endangered species at the Pairi Daiza zoo. (Read more)
The giant panda is believed to be a conservation reliant endangered species.