In this photo provided by the Tokyo Zoological Park Association, twin pandas of Japanese descent, Xiao Xiao, top, and Lei Lei, bottom, are seen together at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. January 12, 2022.
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In this photo provided by the Tokyo Zoological Park Association, twin pandas of Japanese descent, Xiao Xiao, top, and Lei Lei, bottom, are seen together at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. January 12, 2022.
AP
TOKYO (AP) – Two panda cubs made their first public appearance Wednesday to devoted fans in Tokyo but only briefly – in just three days – due to a spike in schools case of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant.
Twins, male Xiao Xiao and sister Lei Lei, born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in June, took their first steps as smiling fans held up their smartphones to film the European couple. bibs when they play together.
In a video released by the zoo on Wednesday, twin tiger cubs sit with their backs against a tree, playing with bamboo, while visitors can be heard saying “kawaii (cute)!” in the background. The male then steps on his sister to move up the tree.
The twins, which were pink creatures the size of a palm when they were born, now weigh as little as a toddler and have black and white fur. They love to climb trees and play together on pieces of wood on the ground, according to the zoo.
To prepare for their debut, the twins and their mother were brought into a common area, where they were exposed to radio sounds to get used to the noise and voices of visitors.
The zoo has been closed since Tuesday as the highly contagious omicron variant spread rapidly across Japan. The zoo is only open for its twin panda exhibit until Friday, with 1,080 visitors winning in a competitive lottery given access each day.
Groups of six were allowed into the pandas quarters, where they could stay for a minute. Public viewing time is limited to two hours in the morning.
The rare animals live mainly in the bamboo covered mountains in the Sichuan region, China.
For decades, China has lent its unofficial national mascot in what has come to be known as “panda diplomacy”. All pandas, including those born abroad, must eventually be returned to China.
The sister of the twin tiger cubs, Xiang Xiang, was born in Ueno Zoo in 2017, and is expected to be sent back to China in June.
There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and another 500 in captivity in zoos and sanctuaries, mostly in the country.
