Panda family's "nanny daddy" in Malaysia
When most animals in the Zoo Negara Malaysia on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur are still asleep early in the morning, the pantry at the Giant Panda Conservation Center (GPCC) already lights up. Panda caretaker Akmal Hadi Samsuddin has started his workday by preparing breakfast for the panda family.
Fresh bamboo is the staple food while apples, pears and bamboo shoots are washed, weighed and cut into pieces to put on plate. There are also panda "cakes" made of eggs, soybeans, corn, rice, sugar, salt, calcium powder and corn oil.
"We usually taste the cakes before putting them in the oven," Akmal said, adding that they need to make six meals every day for the panda family, including the dad Xing Xing, the mum Liang Liang, and their two daughters Yi Yi and Sheng Yi.
Daily routines for the caretakers also include cleaning pandas' rooms, checking their bodies, training and bringing them to meet visitors, and maintaining the conservation center, etc., which usually last until the pandas' last meal at 9:00 in the evening.
However, Akmal, nicknamed "Panda's Nanny Daddy" on social media, found joy in the busy work. "We don't take it as a job. As soon as we see pandas, we cheer up because it's a responsibility to take care of them," he said.
Akmal has been taking care of pandas since Xing Xing and Liang Liang came to Malaysia from China in 2014.
To ensure that Xing Xing and Liang Liang adapt well to a new life here, Zoo Negara Malaysia not only assigned Akmal to Sichuan, China to learn how to take care of them in advance, but also sent several types of local bamboo to China to see which ones the pandas like.
"They (pandas) mainly feed on five types of Malaysian bamboo," Akmal told Xinhua, noting that selecting fresh bamboo is important to make sure the pandas eat well. The caretaker team needs to spend around three days every week traveling to other states to harvest bamboo.
"There is grass everywhere, with a lot of mosquitoes, even snakes around (in the bamboo forest). It's dangerous," Akmal said.
"But we are willing to do it because for us it's like harvesting for our kids."
With good food, the way of feeding them is also important.
GPCC director Mat Naim Ramli told Xinhua that to protect pandas' teeth, caretakers need to change different species of bamboo often and ensure the harder ones are cut into thinner pieces. Read More...
