BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Chinese media) -- The panda pair from the mainland began to eat local bamboo as their entire staple diet in the Taipei Zoo on Friday, 11 days after their arrival in Taiwan.
The pandas, named Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, "have very good appetites," said Ming Cheih Chao, director of the zoo's animal department.
Chao said they ate 33 kilograms of bamboo plus steamed corn bread, apples and radishes between 9 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. on Friday.
He said that the zoo had arranged a gradual process for the pandas to adapt to the local diet. They began to get half their food from Taiwan on the third day after their arrival, rising to 90 percent on the eighth day.
"So they have fully adapted to Taiwan bamboo," Chao said, adding that Tuan Tuan weighed 109.2 kg on Friday, up 1.4 kg from Thursday, while Yuan Yuan's weight increased by 2 kg to 110.4 kg.
The pair were transported from a nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province to Taipei on Dec. 23 as gifts from the mainland and became "sweethearts" of the island.
They have two spacious enclosures and can enjoy themselves in a765-square-meter garden and playground enclosed by thick, noise-proof glass.
They will soon be presented to the public and security measures will be stepped up to ensure their safety, the zoo authorities said.
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