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Born out of love: Putin hears heartwarming tale of panda Katyusha’s birth

Svetlana Akulova noted that the mama panda turned out to have very strong maternal instincts

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

HARBIN, May 17. /TASS/. Moscow Zoo Director Svetlana Akulova told Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Deputy Premier Han Zheng that Katyusha, the panda from the Moscow Zoo, was born out of love and is in good hands, just like its parents.

In May 2019, China handed over pandas Ding Ding and Zhui to Russia. They were housed at the Moscow Zoo. In late August 2023, Russia welcomed the first-ever panda cub born in the country at the Moscow Zoo. In a vote carried out by the Active Citizen national online project, ordinary Russians chose to name her Katyusha.

"Last year we united them. It was a unique experience because usually we unite couples who have already delivered a baby. In this case, they had no experience, it was consensual, it was love. The second thing is that just after one coupling we got a baby girl," Akulova told Putin during the Russian president's tour of the Russian-Chinese Expo.

Akulova noted that the mama panda turned out to have very strong maternal instincts. "From the moment she took the baby in her big paws, she did not want to let it go," the zoo director said.

She also noted that Katyusha’s pink color is natural. "We don't color her. It is the mom who has an enzyme after she eats bamboo, and she licks her to the point where she turns this pink," Akulova explained. She added that a pink panda is a happy panda.

"Now she already weighs 26 kilograms, compared to 150 grams when she was born. So, the pandas are in good hands," Akulova emphasized.

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