Department of Sports, Taipei City Government

Today (August 30) marks the 22nd birthday of Giant Panda Yuan Yuan at Taipei Zoo. To celebrate the occasion, the husbandry team prepared a thoughtfully designed birthday surprise—a "Fruit and Vegetable Train" made from bamboo poles, sugarcane, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Beyond celebrating Yuan Yuan's birthday, the enrichment was designed to increase the enjoyment of foraging by introducing different foods, presentations, and feeding methods, encouraging natural exploration and activity.

As part of this year's birthday celebration, keepers once again created a seasonal food-based behavioral enrichment activity for Yuan Yuan. Using pineapples, carrots, grapes, kiwifruit, sugarcane, and cantaloupe—along with pumpkins and cucumbers introduced for the first time—they combined these ingredients with golden bamboo and arrow bamboo to create a colorful "Fruit and Vegetable Train." The design not only encourages healthy eating by highlighting fruits and vegetables, but also commemorates the 40th anniversary of Taipei Zoo's relocation from its former Yuanshan site to its current location in Wenshan District.

For Yuan Yuan, this birthday gift is more than simply a nutritious seasonal treat. The entire process—from discovering and sniffing the food to exploring and figuring out how to reach her favorite items—is itself an important form of behavioral enrichment that enhances her daily life.

Bamboo remains the primary component of a giant panda's diet, so their "birthday feast" is quite different from what many people might imagine. Fruits and vegetables are offered as supplementary items to provide dietary variety and behavioral enrichment rather than serving as the main part of the daily diet. As Yuan Yuan has grown older, the husbandry team has paid even closer attention to the variety, palatability, and actual intake of her food, making adjustments based on her appetite, activity level, and overall health each day. This year's selection of ingredients with different colors, aromas, textures, and tastes was intended to provide Yuan Yuan with a refreshing experience while maintaining appropriate nutritional management.

At 22 years of age, Yuan Yuan has entered her senior years. Caring for an elderly giant panda involves far more than simply ensuring she eats well and gets enough rest. Keepers routinely monitor her body weight, appetite, fecal condition, activity level, and behavior. Through regular health monitoring, medical training, dietary adjustments, and environmental and behavioral enrichment, they closely track the physiological and behavioral changes that may accompany aging. They also record her daily consumption of bamboo leaves and formulated diet, comparing these records with changes in body weight and fecal condition to adjust food quantities and bamboo species when needed, helping maintain a healthy gut environment. Because dental health becomes increasingly important in older animals, keepers also carefully monitor the amount of bamboo stalks Yuan Yuan eats. While bamboo stalks provide essential fiber, they also contribute to tooth wear, so a greater variety of bamboo leaves is offered to supplement her fiber intake.

Through long-term, consistent training, keepers build trust and cooperation with the pandas, allowing routine healthcare procedures and health monitoring to be carried out. These include oral examinations, dental cleaning, blood pressure measurement, X-rays, and ultrasound examinations. Regular medical training enables veterinarians and keepers to monitor the pandas' health without the need for anesthesia. In addition, keepers conduct giant panda training demonstrations and educational talks at 3:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of every month at the Giant Panda House. Visitors are welcome to attend, and further information is available on the Taipei Zoo website.

For senior animals, maintaining a high quality of life is an essential part of their care. Appropriate behavioral enrichment is not simply about providing toys or special treats; it involves creating opportunities through changes in the environment, sensory experiences, food presentation, and activities that allow animals to make choices, explore, and express natural behaviors. The husbandry team tailors enrichment activities to Yuan Yuan's age, physical condition, and individual preferences. Rather than pursuing greater activity or more complex challenges, the goal is to encourage her to participate voluntarily and enjoy appropriate stimulation throughout the experience.

Yuan Yuan's 22nd birthday behavioral enrichment display reflects the husbandry team's year-round commitment to her health and well-being, while also serving as an opportunity to thank the many visitors who have accompanied the pandas over the years. May this specially prepared "Fruit and Vegetable Train" carry everyone's warm wishes as we celebrate Yuan Yuan's birthday and wish her many more healthy, comfortable, and joyful days ahead, lived at her own pace.