CISARUA, Indonesia (AP) — The first giant panda born in Indonesia squirmed as veterinarians checked his hearing and eyesight and confirmed the furry cub was growing and healthy Friday before his public debut later this month.
Satrio Wiratama, nicknamed “Rio,” can walk on his own, climbs on his mother and has started eating bamboo shoots. He has grown to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) at 169 days old.
Veterinarians are monitoring his development to determine how well he might adapt to the crowds when he debuts at Indonesian Safari Park outside the capital, Jakarta.
“What’s important to note is that all of Rio’s senses are active; he has the ability to understand the environment, assess the situation, adapt to more people, and hear sounds, even in certain levels of noise. We will train him gradually,” said Bongot Huaso Mulia, a veterinarian who monitors Rio’s progress.
His growth in some ways is faster than average, especially his teeth, according to Mulia.
Rio was born Nov. 27 to his mother, Hu Chun, and a male panda, Cai Tao, who are both 15 years old. The pair arrived in Indonesia in 2017 on a 10-year conservation partnership with China. They live in an enclosure built for them at the park about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the capital in Cisarua, West Java province.
The two adult pandas have a large fan base in Indonesia. Rio’s birth has drawn many panda enthusiasts, and his public debut has been eagerly anticipated, with numerous requests on social media to see him soon.
The three of them are living in a three-tier temple known as the Panda Palace on a hill surrounded by about 5,000 square meters of land (1.2 acres) and equipped with an elevator, sleeping area, medical facilities and indoor and outdoor play areas.
Rio’s name symbolizes the hope, resilience, and shared commitment of Indonesia and China in protecting endangered species.
Pandas are China’s unofficial mascot and Beijing’s loans of the animals to overseas zoos have long been seen as soft-power “panda diplomacy.”
Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are less than 1,900 giant pandas in their only wild habitats in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
Rio was born through artificial insemination. Besides having a new individual, Rio also provides new genetic data on giant pandas, which can help research in Indonesia and in China, said Aswin Sumampau, president director of the park.
“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, a small victory for us, as we’ve managed to breed a species that is extremely difficult to breed. Just imagine, for the past two years, no pandas were born at any ex-situ conservation facility worldwide. Taman Safari has managed to do that,” Sumampau said.
