By Chet Chin There are not many good things to say about the Covid-19 pandemic that hit us in early 2020 and continues to cast its shadow globally till today. But to me, there is one unexpected but positive “side effect” for the giant panda world: overseas born pandas due to be returned to China that have had their journeys delayed and postponed more than once, continue to stay in the zoos where they were born. Zoo Negara Malaysia is one such zoo with a giant panda staying on extended time due to Covid-19. Yi Yi, our second panda cub born in Malaysia, celebrated her 5th birthday recently on 14 January. According to the Malaysian giant panda loan agreement, all panda cubs born here would have to be returned to China any time after their 2nd birthday. Nuan Nuan, our firstborn panda cub, was returned to China on 14 November 2017, less than 3 months after her 2nd birthday. Yi Yi looked set to follow in big sister’s footsteps after her 2nd birthday on 14 January 2020. But Covid-19 struck very soon after, with China going into lockdown later that month, and Malaysia following in mid March. Yi Yi’s birth in January is also something of an anomaly in the world of giant pandas. Giant panda cubs are usually born between July and September each year as the giant panda breeding season happens during the spring season (in this case, the northern spring season, because Sichuan Province, home of giant pandas, is located north of the equator). Her birth in January was more aligned with the southern spring season. Lucky for us in Malaysia that she was born in January. If not, we would not have had such an international gathering for her 2nd birthday on 14 January 2020. Yi Yi’s birth in January had also caught the attention of panda fans all over the world. As the firstborn panda cub in 2018, she enjoyed the sole attention of the fans for quite a few months before other panda cubs were born that year. This led to her winning the […]