Birthday treats for Kai Kai and Jia Jia

Bamboo, apples and carrots are not your usual ingredients for a birthday cake. They were, however, the perfect birthday surprise for River Safari's famous panda couple Kai Kai and Jia Jia, as the pair entered the Giant Forest enclosure yesterday morn
PHOTO: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

Bamboo, apples and carrots are not your usual ingredients for a birthday cake.

They were, however, the perfect birthday surprise for River Safari's famous panda couple Kai Kai and Jia Jia, as the pair entered the Giant Forest enclosure yesterday morning.

Kai Kai turned 11 yesterday, while Jia Jia's 10th birthday fell on Sept 3.

Each panda received a 1.2m-tall tower adorned with apples and carrots, and containing about 17kg of bamboo.

Giant cake toppers wished the pandas a happy birthday.

River Safari assistant curator Halim Ali, who has cared for the pandas since they arrived in Singapore six years ago, said they are like family to the team of keepers.

He added: "Kai Kai and Jia Jia love getting treats, and we love spoiling them!"

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 15, 2018, with the headline Birthday treats for Kai Kai and Jia Jia. Subscribe