'He has been a ray of hope': Fans say goodbye to panda cub Le Le in his last public appearance

SINGAPORE — Tie Boon Ping arrived at River Wonders at 8am on Dec 13, the eighth day in a row that he has come to the wildlife park in Mandai.  

The 57-year-old operations director is here to catch one last glimpse of Le Le, the first panda cub born on Singapore's shores.

It will be Le Le's last public appearance. On Dec 14, Le Le will no longer be on display as he begins a 4½-week quarantine, before he takes a plane to China on Jan 16, 2024.

Visitors started trickling in as early as 8am even though River Wonders, where Le Le is housed along with his parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia, opens at 10am.

"I woke up at 4.30am before my alarm at 5.15am, I am very excited to see Le Le today," Tie told The Straits Times. 

"I can't bear to see him go but deep down, I feel happy that he is going back to his parents' hometown."

Tie first saw the panda cub in January 2022 and has been visiting him almost every week since.

"He is so adorable… it feels therapeutic to see him," said Mr Tie, adding that he has visited seven zoos and wildlife parks this year in countries like South Korea and China to see giant pandas. 

Some visitors took the extra effort to dress up for the occasion by sporting panda T-shirts.

Another long-time fan of Le Le, Choo Jia Le, compared the panda cub's departure to the loss of a family member.

"It's very sad and hard to say goodbye to him knowing that I can no longer see him in Singapore," said the civil servant who is in her early 30s.

Choo has been visiting Le Le weekly since January 2022 and on public holidays as a pastime and a way to unwind from work. 

She told ST her favourite moments of Le Le included seeing him tumble down the slopes in the exhibit, and running to the den when it was meal time.

"He has been a ray of hope through the darkest moments of the pandemic… This will definitely not be the last time I'll see him," said Choo, who plans to visit China next year in a bid to see Le Le again.

Le Le was born to giant pandas Jia Jia and Kai Kai on Aug 14, 2021. He is the first and only cub born to both pandas since the pair arrived in Singapore in 2012 on loan from China. It took them seven attempts to conceive the cub.

Under the terms of Chinese panda loan agreements, cubs born on foreign soil are generally returned to China when they turn two.

China loans these animals to other countries as a goodwill gesture, an effort that has become popularly known as "panda diplomacy".

Meanwhile, Jia Jia and Kai Kai's stay in Singapore was extended in 2022 for five more years until 2027 under an agreement signed by China Wildlife Conservation Association and Mandai Wildlife Group.

ALSO READ: 'He holds a special place in our hearts': Le Le's keepers look back on their time with Singapore's first panda cub

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.