Kai Kai and Jia Jia: Singapore's giant pandas enter the final stretch of their extended stay
The pair arrived from China in 2012 and had their loan extended by five years. Along the way, they became parents and drew millions of visitors to River Wonders.
Giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia have lived at River Wonders (formerly River Safari) since 2012, when they arrived in Singapore on loan from China under a wildlife conservation partnership.
In 2022, the China Wildlife Conservation Association and Mandai Wildlife Group signed an extension agreement keeping the pair in Singapore for five more years, taking their stay through to 2027.
A family affair
Their cub Le Le, born in August 2021, was Singapore's first panda cub and a rare success for the pair's breeding programme. Le Le was returned to China in 2023, as is standard practice under international panda loan agreements.
More than 7.6 million visitors have viewed Kai Kai and Jia Jia at River Wonders since they arrived in Singapore.
The collaboration between Singaporean and Chinese wildlife experts has produced more than 30 joint research papers and reached close to 400,000 people through public outreach programmes, according to Mandai Wildlife Group.
Sources: Mandai Wildlife Group, River Wonders
