Popular twin pandas at Tokyo’s oldest zoo finally get named

Tokyo’s
Ueno Zoo witnessed the birth of two palm-sized pink creatures on June 23. The twins
became popular very quickly and weigh nearly 50 times more than they did when
they were born. Their names were announced on Friday and the female cub will be
called Lei Lei while her brother will be referred to as Xiao Xiao.

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The names
were chosen from thousands of suggestions from fans living in Japan. The huge animals
are highly popular and important in the country.

Their
importance is such that the Tokyo government and officials from the zoo had to
set up a name selection committee and go through 190,000 suggestions (received
in 14 days) for naming the pandas.

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After consultation
with the Giant Panda National Park in China (the owners of the cute twins), the
duo was finally named.

Yuriko
Koike, the 69-year-old Governor of Tokyo announced the names during her weekly news
conference. She revealed that Lei Lei is meant to portray a bud blooming into a
beautiful flower and developing a bright future while Xiao Xiao refers to the
light of dawn turning brighter.

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October 1
marked the 100th day of the pandas since arriving into this world. Both
of them are in a healthy state and weighed over 6 kilograms.

The Ueno
Zoological Gardens is the oldest zoo in Japan. It opened in 1882 and on June 23,
2021 they witnessed the birth of their first ever twin pandas.

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They were
born to Shin Shin (mother) and her mate Ri Ri, both 15 years of age. The pair
are on loan from China and this is not the first time that they have given
birth.

The general
public will be allowed to look at the pair and their mother in January, when
the two turn six months old. They are being raised inside the zoo’s facilities.

(With inputs from Associated Press.)