Giant Panda cub Le Le turns one; now weighs over 33kg, eats solid food

River Wonder’s beloved Giant Panda cub, Le Le, celebrated his first birthday on Sunday (Aug 14).

The panda cub commemorated his latest chapter in life with a specially designed three-tier ice cake embedded with carrots, bamboo, edible flowers and topped with apple slices.

The past year has seen Le Le achieve several milestones, such as starting to consume solid food. While still mainly reliant on his mom’s milk, he was offered pellets and carrots on Jun 10 and has begun to nibble on these, in addition to bamboo leaves and shoots, in small quantities. 

Following Le Le’s success with solid food, the panda’s care team began his positive reinforcement training (PRT) journey on Jul 7. 

Through the sessions with his care team, one such skill Le Le learnt was how to respond to a target. 

According to Mandai Wildlife Group, each session currently lasts no more than a few minutes at a time as Le Le gets easily distracted. The team is looking to gradually lengthen the PRT sessions in order to make upcoming health checks and procedures easier and less stressful for the panda.

Over the past year, Le Le has also made a transformation in terms of his weight and appearance. He has made “steady progress in his growth and development”, from weighing 200g as a mostly hairless infant into an over 33kg furry one-year-old.

With the panda cub’s birthday festivities ongoing until Sep 11, the public can continue to enjoy panda-themed activities with the Panda-stic Party bundle, which includes admission to the day and night events. 

The package starts from $36 and can be purchased here.