Fan Xing, Netherlands’ first male giant panda turns out to be female

New Delhi: A two-year-old giant panda living in a Dutch zoo has caused quite a stir by turning out to be a female of the species and not a male animal as initially thought by the zoo authorities.

The sudden discovery at the Ouwehands Zoo was made during a routine medical examination on Fan Xing, who was the first giant panda to be born in the Netherlands.

The zoo’s manager confirmed the news on national television late on Thursday night.

“Fan Xing surprised us,” said Jose Kok, in a statement released by the zoo after the broadcast interview. “For us, the sex was just a fact we wanted to check during the examination under anaesthesia, to be sure.”

The panda was taken for a short medical examination a few months after being born, which usually has to be done quickly so that the baby can be reunited with its mother.

But Kok said that determining sex is difficult in a young baby animal not under any anaesthetic. “We were so convinced the baby was male we never doubted it,” she said.

The Giant Panda, later named Fan Xing, was born on May 1 to two giant pandas — mum Wu Wen and dad Xing Ya — who were loaned to the Netherlands by China in 2017 for 15 years.

Her name was revealed in October. “Fan” is a reference to the Chinese name for Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and “Xing” means star, a reference to van Gogh’s famous painting, Starry Night.

She will soon be sent back to China as planned as part of an international breeding programme.

Giant pandas were removed from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list of endangered species in 2016.

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