Panda Watch is a biweekly blog by the Post that tracks the latest on the baby panda twins – the first to be born in Hong Kong – until they are ready to meet the public. As the twin cubs have passed their most critical 100 days after birth, the blog will be updated once every two weeks starting from this issue.
Hong Kong’s giant panda cubs are 16 weeks old and have grown in weight by over 40 times since birth.
Ocean Park shared that “Elder Sister” had gone from just 122 grams to 5.3kg (5.9lbs), while “Little Brother” weighed in heavier at 5.5kg after starting at 112 grams.
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Both cubs are getting used to being live-streamed from their cot for two hours every day at the park, while zookeepers also revealed that the first teeth in both bears are starting to grow.
While the two cubs are still drinking formula from milk bottles, they are expected to be able to eat solids such as sweet potatoes, apples and bamboo shoots when they turn six months old.
Giant pandas, like humans, have two sets of teeth during their lifetime.
Baby pandas start to develop their 24 baby teeth when they’re about three months old, and lose them at around seven months old.
By a year and a half, their baby teeth will have been replaced by a full set of 42 permanent ones, including a pair of sharp canine teeth, while the molars are wide and thick, providing a strong grinding ability to chew tough foods such as bamboo.
They also have tough linings to their mouths and oesophagus so bamboo splinters do not puncture their digestive tract.
A study published in the Chinese Journal of Ecology studied the bite force of 151 carnivores and found that the giant panda ranked fifth, only behind lions, brown bears, tigers and polar bears.
Giant pandas’ canine teeth have a bite force of 1,299 newtons while their molars have a bite force of 1,852 newtons, according to the study.
In 2019, Chinese and American scientists discovered that pandas have self-regenerating teeth, prompting research into potential applications for human dentures and ceramics.
Giant panda tooth enamel can recover its structure at a microscopic and nanoscopic level to counter wear and tear, according to the study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Metal Research.
This regeneration helps the animals to munch up to 38kg of tough bamboo stems every day.
The fibrous plant makes up 99 per cent of a panda’s typical diet.
However, the study found that the enamel was not resistant to large-scale cracks.
The discovery was made by a research team led by Liu Zengqian, a scientist at the institute’s fracture mechanics laboratory.
Panda tooth enamel is made of the mineral hydroxyapatite, whose fibres are arranged in a special structure that reduces the growth of small cracks, Liu said.
The research team is using these findings to develop high-performance material for use in bionic human dentures and durable ceramics.
Elder Sister’s weight: 5.3kg
Little Brother’s weight: 5.5kg
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong pandas An An and Ke Ke meet the press ahead of Sunday’s public unveiling
- Hong Kong’s panda twin cubs will be given ‘caring training’ at 2 to 3 years old
- Pandas gifted to Hong Kong by Beijing to meet the public on December 8
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