SINGAPORE – Panda lovers, heads-up! Beloved giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia are getting some space for a bit of romance this breeding season.
In a Facebook post on April 20, the Mandai Wildlife Reserve announced that the Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest at River Wonders will be closed from April 21 to 22 to give the animals “the peace and privacy they need”.
Giant panda females like Jia Jia ovulate only once a year, with fertility peaking for just 24 to 36 hours.
Kai Kai and Jia Jia arrived in Singapore in September 2012, on a decade-long loan from China. In 2022, their stay was extended by five years to 2027.
After six failed attempts to conceive since their arrival, first-time parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia successfully welcomed their first cub, a male named Le Le, on Aug 14, 2021.
Today, Le Le remains the only giant panda to be born in Singapore.
Kai Kai and Jia Jia will turn 18 and 17 respectively in September 2025. According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute website, giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and seven years of age and may be reproductive into their 20s.
Le Le was returned to China on Jan 16, 2024, under the terms of the original panda loan agreement signed between Mandai Wildlife Group and China Wildlife Conservation Association.
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