Next up, I was lucky to get to see Le Le 叻叻 and Qing Zai 青仔 still living together on my visit – they were both born in 2021, making them now 3.5 years old. They are a little young for sexually maturing, but after my visit photos and videos came out showing them not getting along as well anymore and fighting a bit, so the base has now separated them. I’m so glad I saw them together still after having seen them with Qing Bao 青宝 (who now lives in Washington DC) last year – and when I went they were still very friendly to each other!

Le Le is still very popular with lots of people stopping by to see him – I too spent quite a bit of time at the yard. When I first got there it was still cleaning time, and when I came back around the bamboo had been laid out and the two were both enjoying breakfast. That didn’t last long and then they both laid down to sleep the morning away! I came back a few hours later and they were still sleeping, but I got there at perfect time and they both started stirring and went inside. The keepers refreshed the bamboo and both then came out for a quick drink of water before settling down to eat again – there was a lot of eating going on here! The 4PM feed was the best feeding time because this is when the bamboo shoots come out. These were placed on the swinging platform in the middle of the yard and the two sat next to it chowing down on the goods! Once they were all done, one of the pandas even climbed on up to the swing just to double check they really were all gone, so so cute^