Local panda carer Chio Chong Kuan said Tuesday that Macau’s first locally born panda babies –Tai Pou and Sio Pou – were in good health, growing well and putting on weight.
Chio said that Tai Pou, the elder cub, weighed over 1,000 grammes on Tuesday, an increase of 14 times over his birth weight, while Sio Pou, his younger brother, weighed 753 grammes on Tuesday, an increase of 7.5 times his birth weight.
Chio made the announcement on the sidelines of a celebration at the Macau Giant Panda Pavilion in Coloane, marking the birth of the male twins a month ago.
On Tuesday, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) held the event, which included a visit by 30 local children to the pavilion, with the children singing “Happy Birthday” to the cubs.
It was the first time that the twins met members of the general public.
The event was a part of a raft of celebratory activities by the bureau to mark the twins’ first full month.
Customarily, Chinese people hold a celebration for their babies’ first month, commonly known as “muhn yuht” (“full month”) in Cantonese, when the infants receive gifts.
At birth, Tai Pou weighed 135 grammes, but Sio Pou was severely underweight at only 53.8 grammes. Tai Pou was born at 3:45 p.m. on June 26. Sio Pou was born at 4:27 p.m. that day.
Tai Pou means “big baby” or “big treasure” in Cantonese, while Sio Pou means “little baby” or “little treasure”. “Pou” in Cantonese is often used in infant names. The local government gave the twins their infant names early this month.
The twins’ parents are a gift by the central government to Macau. They have become one of Macau’s top tourist attractions.
The central government regards pandas as “national treasures”.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
