Turning another year older couldn’t be sweeter for one of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s beloved giant pandas.
On Sunday, Tian Tian celebrated his 26th birthday by being presented with a multi-tiered fruitsicle cake crafted by the Washington, D.C., zoo’s Department of Nutrition Science. According to a press release, the treat was crafted using frozen diluted apple and pineapple juices and included the numbers two and six as cake toppers.
In a video shared on the zoo’s website and YouTube account, Tian Tian could be seen twisting and turning the cake on the ground as he took multiple bites of the animal-friendly creation.
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Each tier of the pink and green dessert was decorated with pears, bananas, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and bamboo springs. The cake also included a mixture of mashed sweet potatoes, mashed carrots, and honey for its frosting.
This will be the last birthday that Tian Tian will celebrate at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Tian Tian, the female giant panda, 25-year-old Mei Xiang, and their 3-year-old son, Xiao Qi Ji, are scheduled to leave in December.
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Tian Tian was born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and has lived at the zoo since Dec. 6, 2000, as part of an agreement with the Conservation Biology Institute and China Wildlife and Conservation Association (CWCA), according to the Smithsonian. In 2020, zoo officials signed a three-year agreement extension, keeping Tian Tian and his family in Washington through Dec. 7, 2023.
Xiao Qi Ji celebrates 3rd birthday at Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
Skip Brown/Smithsonianâs National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
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Just a few days before Tian Tian’s birthday celebration, the zoo also treated Xiao Qi Ji with his own cake in honor of his third birthday.
To bid all three panda bears farewell, the zoo has announced that it will host a “Panda Palooza,” scheduled to take place between Sept. 23 to Oct 1. More details about the event are expected to be released on the zoo’s website in early September.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education