Everland to show Panda couple from China from April 21

"Lebao (male, 3 years old) just finished adjusting to the new environment. He is now very playful such as playing on a slide. Aibao (female, 2 years old), on the other hand, is very sensitive and stays only in a tree that she thinks is safe," said their keeper, Liu Juan.

When I met Liu and veterinarian Ling Shanshan at Everland's Panda World in Yongin on Wednesday, they seemed concerned more about Aibao than Lebao. Aibao is afraid of artificial environments as she stayed with her mother for too long when she was younger, while Lebao seems already comfortable with the new place. He was eating bamboo shoots and then fell asleep on his wood bed. The place had already become his home.

The panda couple arrived on March 3 from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Dujiangyan Base. They were being trained for Panda World, which will open on April 21. The pandas are being closely observed from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. by Kang Cheol-won, a veteran keeper with 28 years of experience.

The pandas have completely adjusted to the new food, which was the biggest concern. They eat 15 to 20 kilograms of bamboos a day, and they seemed to have no problem with eating Korean bamboos from Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province. Everland has even prepared a special refrigerator for bamboos to keep them juicy and fresh. Every three days, they transport bamboos from Hadong in a refrigerator van and keep them in the refrigerator that keeps the temperature at 5℃. This refrigerator automatically releases moisture so that bamboo leaves would not dry.

State-of-the-art equipment has been brought into the facility in order to check the pandas' health. An automatic weighing machine is installed on the path that the pandas pass by every morning for food.

"Changes in weight is a barometer that tells you the animal's health condition. That is why we check their weight every morning along with a stool test," Ling said. An automatic thermostat and ceiling shutters have also been installed so that the pandas can stay away from heat that they hate.

Lesser pandas and golden monkeys will move in on April 21, next door to the panda couple. Along with pandas, they are the three most endangered animals in China. With them joining, Everland will be the first place in Korea that has all of the endangered animals.

Everland's Panda World itself is very impressive with its streamlined facility. Everland has installed various equipment with Samsung's IT, which allows visitors observe pandas without waking them up during their usual 10 hour nap. Circularly combined 36 curved displays with ultra-high-resolution show an animation of pandas' journey.

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