First German-born pandas celebrate their fourth birthday ahead of expected return to China

(31 Aug 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin - 31 August 2023
1. Wide of panda walking towards ice birthday cake
2. Close of number four on ice cake
3. Various of two pandas playing with cake
4. SOUNDBITE (German) Florian Sicks, Berlin zoo curator for mammals:
"Our two pandas, Pit and Paule, have their 4th birthday today. They are the first two giant pandas ever born in Germany. And today is their 4th birthday. And there was a nice surprise that the animal care team has prepared. An ice cream cake studded with apples, carrots and beetroot. In addition, a little snow. The giant pandas love the snow and play with it."
5. Close of panda eating cake
6. Wide of panda playing with cake
7. Close of pandas playing with each other
8. SOUNDBITE (German) Florian Sicks, Berlin zoo curator for mammals:
"Soon we hope that the two will also travel back to China. As a rule, this happens at age 2 or 3. Because of the pandemic, it was delayed a bit so that they are now celebrating their 4th birthday here here, which we of course are very, very happy about. But at the moment we assume that this will probably be the last birthday the two of them will celebrate here in Berlin."
9. Various of pandas playing with cake and with each other
STORYLINE:
The first giant pandas born in Germany celebrated their fourth birthday on Thursday as the Berlin zoo prepared to send them to China — a journey that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pit and Paule — whose Chinese names are Meng Xiang und Meng Yuan — have been a star attraction at the German zoo since their birth in 2019.

They enjoyed an ice cake with apples, carrots and beetroot, with a side of snow.

While China for decades gifted friendly nations with its unofficial mascot as part of a policy of “panda diplomacy,″ the country now loans pandas to zoos on commercial terms.

The panda twins' parents, Jiao Qing and Meng Meng, arrived in Berlin in 2017.

Florian Sicks, the zoo's curator for mammals, said Pit and Paule belong to China and its Chengdu Panda Base and officials hope that they will soon travel there.

Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed.

There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide.

AP video shot by Volkmar Kienoel

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