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Agence France-Presse

Chewing on his paw and falling asleep on his face, the first giant panda born in the Netherlands made his debut in public on Friday at the age of almost seven months.
The young male, named Fan Xing, went on show at the Ouwehands zoo in the central town of Rhenen after it reopened following a coronavirus shutdown.
“I think he looks fine … Mum is around, he feels safe so that’s nice,” said Jose Kok, the zoological manager at Ouwehands.
“It’s very special because it’s the first cub born here in the Netherlands but I’m also very proud because it was a cub that was a result of a natural mating,” Kok said.

“He started in the maternity den for some months and then gradually came out, started to walk and now he’s there, climbing, falling.”
Fan Xing was born on May 1 to two giant pandas – female Wu Wen and male Xing Ya – who were loaned to the Netherlands by China in 2017 for 15 years.
His name, revealed in October, is a mixture of “Fan”, a reference to Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, and “Xing”, which means star.
It’s a boy: Washington’s new panda cub gets gender reveal
He can stay in the Netherlands for four years before he must return to China as part of an international breeding programme.
“But we’re also proud of that you know, because then he’s going to be part of the international breeding programme and he is the ambassador for giant pandas in China, in the wild, that needs protection,” Kok said.
Famed for its “panda diplomacy”, China has dispatched its national treasure to only about a dozen countries as a symbol of close relations.
Pandas are notoriously bad at reproducing, especially in captivity. According to the WWF, just over 1,800 were found remaining in the wild in the last census in 2014.


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Pandas

Baby panda born in Netherlands makes public debut

Panda cub Fan Xing enters his indoor enclosure at the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, the Netherlands on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Fan Xing reactsin his indoor enclosure at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, The Netherlands, on November 19, 2020. - The baby giant panda is the first baby of Wu Wen and Xing Ya, who came to the Netherlands from a panda rescue centre in China. (Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT

Tokyo asks China if Xiang Xiang and parents can stay, as lease of pandas ends

Giant panda cub Xiang Xiang, left, is pulled by her mother Shin Shin at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Photo: AP

Visitors wait to watch female baby panda Xiang Xiang, born from mother panda Shin Shin on June 12, 2017, on the first day of her public debut at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Panda enthusiast Saeko Nishitani, 23, poses for a photograph after the public viewing of female baby panda Xiang Xiang, born from mother panda Shin Shin on June 12, 2017, on the first day of her public debut at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Female giant panda cub Xiang Xiang (L) walks beside her mother Shin Shin (R) at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on December 19, 2017. Xiang Xiang appeared to the public the first time at the zoo. REUTERS/Toru Yamanaka/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Xiang Xiang plays in her enclosure in December 2017. Photo: AFP

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A member of Blackpink plays with a baby panda. Photo: courtesy of YouTube

A member of Blackpink plays with a baby panda at Panda World in South Korean amusement park Everland. The group played panda keepers for a day, and some Chinese internet users were not best pleased. Photo: courtesy of YouTube

Pandas on board as Taipei Zoo’s baby boom lightens pandemic blues

Giant panda Yuan Yuan gave birth to Yuan Bao in June. Photo: AFP

This picture taken on September 16, 2020 shows Formosan serows at the Taipei Zoo. - Taiwan's largest zoo has celebrated a flurry of births in recent months -- including among residents such as its pandas and pangolins -- in a welcome boost during visitor slump due to the coronavirus. (Photo by SAM YEH / AFP) / TO GO WITH STORY TAIWAN-ZOO-ANIMAL,FOCUS BY AMBER WANG

This undated handout photograph released by the Taipei Zoo on September 24, 2020 shows a recently born pangolin being fed by a staff member at the zoo. - Taiwan's largest zoo has celebrated a flurry of births in recent months -- including among residents such as its pandas and pangolins -- in a welcome boost during visitor slump due to the coronavirus. (Photo by Handout / Taipei Zoo / AFP) / TO GO WITH STORY TAIWAN-ZOO-ANIMAL,FOCUS BY AMBER WANG --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / TAIPEI ZOO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS --- NO ARCHIVES ---

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Male cub Fan Xing, named for Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, goes on show as zoo reopens after coronavirus shutdown
He is the first baby panda born in the Netherlands, and is the result of a natural mating



Male cub Fan Xing, named for Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, goes on show as zoo reopens after coronavirus shutdown.


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