CANBERRA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian public and tourists will soon be able to visit the new pair of giant pandas - the only in the Southern Hemisphere - at the end of their quarantine period following their arrival from China last month.

The two giant pandas, four-year-old male Xingqiu and three-year-old female Yilan, are settling in very well at the Bamboo Forest in Adelaide, capital of South Australia (SA), about 7,500 km from their hometown - southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"How lucky we are! I will be lining up to see them in a few weeks!" Wendy Delany, a Facebook user commented under the post of Adelaide Zoo. "They look quite at home." "The babies look very happy and enjoyable." Comments from the local people welcoming the pandas were seen on social media on Thursday.

The panda pair have slowly started to explore the front of their day rooms, still within quarantine restrictions until later this month, according to the Adelaide Zoo's recent posts on social media.

Yilan and Xingqiu have both enjoyed their first Australian Christmas, with keepers working within quarantine restrictions to provide some festive stimulating enrichment for the panda pair, the zoo said, adding they have been eating plenty of Adelaide-grown bamboo.

Keepers and the specialist team for zoo animals' behavior and environment enrichment have continued finding fun and creative ways to keep Adelaide Zoo's newest residents mentally and physically engaged within their new environment, it said.

The pandas will spend the next 10 years at Adelaide Zoo, replacing the previous pair Wangwang and Funi, who returned to China in November after 15 years in Australia, drawing more than 5 million visitors.

Hailing the arrival of Xingqiu and Yilan, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, an Adelaide local, said the pandas would bring joy to tourists from across Australia and overseas and boost SA's tourism sector.

Building on the success of past cooperation, the new partnership will further advance collaboration in areas such as breeding research, disease prevention, public education and cultural exchange. This initiative aims to strengthen research efforts and foster closer people-to-people ties between China and Australia.

"This is such an exciting new chapter for giant pandas in Australia, and we look forward to learning all about Yilan and Xingqiu's personalities, likes and dislikes...hopefully sparking a love for their species and conservation into the future," Director of Adelaide Zoo Phil Ainsley said at the time of the pair's arrival on Dec. 15, 2024. Enditem

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