Hong Kong, 5 May (ZXS) -- Hong Kong giant panda caregiver: I am doing the happiest job in the world
China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong
2023 marks the 16th year of her tenure as a giant panda caretaker for Assistant Curator of the Zoology Division of Ocean Park Hong Kong, taking care of the elderly and now deceased "An An" and "Jia Jia", and also ushering in the young arrival of "Yingying" and "Lele" playfully holding the rolling "Yingying" and "Lele". One day in early summer, Hu Qiqi specially picked the giant panda for an exclusive interview with a reporter from the China News Agency at breakfast time, and across a glass curtain wall, "Lele" was sitting behind her and concentrating on eating bamboo.
"'Yingying' and 'An'an' are more similar in personality, both are casual, sloppy pandas, eating bamboo often all over the floor, but 'Lele' is very neat, and it is easier for us to clean its room." When Hu Qiqi said this, she turned her head to look at the "Lele" who was eating happily.
When Hu first joined Ocean Park, she first met the older, relatively quiet An An and Jia Jia, a giant panda who settled in Hong Kong in 1999 as a gift from the central government.
She remembers that "Jiajia", who was born in the wild at first and was rescued when she was young, was very recognizable. "'Jiajia' is the most characteristic of the four giant pandas, and he knows his caregiver very well, and he will not be close to you at first." Hu Qiqi was not discouraged, but silently took care of it. Suddenly, one day, "Jiajia" slowly took the initiative to come over, approached Hu Qiqi, sat down with her back, and asked her to help her scratch her back.
At this moment, Hu Qiqi remembers that the strange feeling at the beginning has also been copied with her narration, and she found the original intention and fun of taking care of animals, "What you give them, they will return to you, you give them love and patience, they will know that you are trustworthy." Hu Qiqi starts her daily work at 8:30 a.m., in addition to cleaning up the giant panda's residence, she also prepares <> kilograms of snacks such as bamboo, nest heads and apples, conducts physical examinations for them, and makes environmental integration toys to help the pandas adapt to the new environment, but she never sees it as a chore, but rather like "going to take care of a favorite friend."
Under meticulous care and strict health monitoring, "Jiajia" and "An'an" passed away in 2016 and 2022 at the ages of 38 and 35 respectively, and "Jiajia" became the world's longest-lived giant panda under human care.
Speaking of the death of the two giant pandas, Hu Qiqi's eyes turned red, "Our whole team is very sad, like a family member and friend leaving, after all, we spend more time with it every day than with our own family." She flipped through a commemorative book made by Ocean Park for "An An", which was full of Hong Kong citizens' nostalgia and blessings for it, "'An An' has been in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, Hong Kong people have a deep affection for it, some people have been watching it grow up since childhood, so when it leaves, everyone also comes to say goodbye to it." ”
A few months after Hu Qiqi joined the company, as gifts for the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, "Yingying" and "Lele" arrived, and the one-and-a-half-year-old giant pandas were like glutinous rice dumplings, playfully climbing trees, rolling around, hugging and playing together all day long, adding a lot of vitality to Ocean Park. Hu Qiqi, who has been in charge of taking care of them since then, knows their every move.
"Now Lele is drinking water, and it can drink one or two liters at a time." "'Lele' is smelling the smell of 'Yingying'." "Lele likes to hold the bucket like this, and it wants to sleep now." During the interview, Hu Qiqi also paid attention to the movements of the giant panda and interpreted it to reporters.
After eating breakfast, "Lele" and "Yingying" both walked in their "jungle", and more and more tourists gathered in front of the glass curtain wall. The "Panda Tour" hall is breezy with cool breezes, tree branches fluttering in the breeze, and fish swimming in the small pond. Hu Qiqi said that this is a wild environment specially restored by the Ocean Park for giant pandas, and it will change with the seasons, so that giant pandas can also feel the summer heat and winter snow. (End)