Go Bei Bei, it’s your birthday: Panda turns 3, wilds out at zoo (video)

WASHINGTON — Giant Panda Bei Bei’s third birthday Wednesday at the National Zoo included him munching contentedly on frozen treats through multiple rounds of “Happy Birthday.”

“He’s my boy. To see him grow up and to see him become 3 today — it’s bringing tears to my eyes,” said Amie Russian of Fairfax, Virginia.

People crowded around his outdoor enclosure to snap pictures, record video and exclaim at the cub’s every move. Many in attendance have been following the cub’s life from the beginning.

“He’s comical to watch. He’s fun. He’s adventurous. He’s bad. He’s picky. But all in all, he’s a great bear,” Russian said.

At 3 years old, Bei Bei is considered a juvenile. When he begins to reach sexual maturity by the age of 4, he will be sent to China to participate in breeding programs aiming to save the species from extinction.

“I’m hoping that we get to keep Bei Bei a little bit longer than we’re supposed to at this point, because this would be very sad if this was his last birthday here at the zoo — which it potentially could be,” Samantha Gobler of Chevy Chase said. “I love him.”

Under the zoo’s agreement with China, Bei Bei’s mom Mei Xiang and father Tian Tian are on loan through 2020.

To mark Bei Bei’s special day, the zoo’s Department of Nutrition Sciences created a cake-like treat made from bamboo, various juices, fruit and leaf-eater biscuits.

“The last time it was his birthday he attacked the cake. This time he came over and it was just piecemeal. [He] ate little pieces at a time,” one observer noted. Bei Bei spent about 30 minutes eating his treat, then walked over to a log and proceeded to take a nap.

“After his fiesta was his siesta,” Sam Hartmann of Leesburg, Virginia, said with a smile. “I love him.”

Hartmann was leaving the zoo at midday, but told zoo information aid Charles Rahman that he’d be checking up on Bei Bei’s cake-eating progress later in the day via the panda cam.

“The zoo encourages everybody to check that out and look at it,” Rahman said. “We want everyone to be involved and engaged checking out what’s going on.”

On the zoo’s website you can link to 24-hour live cameras showing the pandas, lions and elephants. Webcam video coverage of an additional species will be revealed soon.