The Moscow Zoo has released a video of a giant panda male named Zhui opening its New Year gifts.
Zhui, who recently became a father, excitedly inspected a shiny bundle decorated with mandarin oranges before moving on to another gift in the shape of a festive tree while munching on bamboo shoots.
Zhui is seven years old, and his partner Dindin is six years old. They arrived in Moscow from China in 2019. Beijing presented the animals to mark the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the country.
Zhui and Dindin became parents to a female cub in August 2023, who is the first ever panda who was born in Russia.
Baby pandas traditionally receive names when they are 100 days old. In early December, the Moscow Zoo asked Russians to choose a name for the cub, with over 250,000 people participating in the vote.
All pandas born either in captivity or in the wild are the property of China and can only be leased rather than gifted. The practice of sending pandas to other countries – dubbed the ‘panda diplomacy’ – dates back to 1941.
Zhui and Dindin are set to return home to China once their 15-year “business trip” ends.
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