Over 100 panda fans sang Happy Birthday as they celebrated the 38th birthday of Xin Xing at Chongqing Zoo on August 16th, 2020. Xin Xing enjoyed a cake made of ice covered by her favorite foods, including bamboo leaves and shoots, apples, carrots and watermelon.
A pandas average age in the wild is 14-20 years. Xin Xing is the world's oldest giant panda. A panda of 38 years old is like a person of about 110 to 130 years old. Xin Xing is expected to break the Guinness world record. Good genes and special scientific care are probably the main reasons for Xin Xing to live so long.
Xin Xing, born in Sichuan Province in 1982, was saved in the wild and sent to Chongqing Zoo in 1983. She visited Canada during the 1988 Winter Olympics, where she attracted over 1 million visitors. She is also a hero mom, having given birth to 10 pandas.
Now she is in good physical condition and she is going to 100 kg in weight. She eats seven meals a day, including 30 kg of bamboo shoots, 1 kg of bamboo leaves and some fruit. The zoo also pays much attention to her health, including daily blood pressure checks.
"We spend so much time together, and she is like a family member to me," said Zhang Naicheng, who has looked after her for 28 years. In recent years, Zhang has spent most of his nights staying in Xin Xing's panda house in case she needs him. "It's hard work, but I have fun looking after the panda," he said. Since she is too old to eat the hard skin of the bamboo shoots, the zookeepers choose fresh bamboo leaves that they can cut into small pieces.
Xin Xing's 38th birthday encourages people to try to protect the animals, especially those in danger.
