WASHINGTON DC: While birthdays for most wild animals are not seen as significant milestones, that is not the case for Xiao Qi Ji, the world’s youngest giant panda, as it celebrated its first birthday yesterday.
To celebrate the milestone, the Smithsonian National Zoo here crafted a frozen fruit icicle ‘cake’ in the shape of the number 1 for Xiao Qi Ji.
As the cameras rolled, Xiao Qi Ji dug into his ‘cake’ with its mother, Mei Xiang, savouring their icy treat in the hot and humid August weather.
“We are about saving species. We are about saving giant pandas, and this one-year anniversary really is a great way to celebrate the success of our panda program as we come into our 50th anniversary,” said Smithsonian National Zoo’s Director, Brandie Smith.
Xiao Qi Ji’s sister, Bei Bei, left for China in 2019, as part of a breeding program, a key in efforts to reintroduce pandas into the wild.
The status of pandas have been reclassified back from “endangered” to “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), thanks to reforestation efforts to expand habitats in which the species can survive.
There are an estimated 1,800 giant pandas in the wild today.
