Giant pandas 'addicted' to snow at northeast ski resort

(ECNS) - Giant pandas Sijia and Youyou played in the snow on Saturday after a blizzard hit the ski resort of Yabuli in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

Sijia, an 11-year-old male, and Youyou, a 12-year-old female, were moved to Yabuli in July 2016, thousands of kilometers from China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province.

Youyou is well-known in China after it was featured at Shanghai Expo 2010. One of its grandparent was Basi, model for the Beijing 1990 Asian Games mascot known as Panpan.

After Youyou ran around tumbling and climbing, she enjoyed some bamboo prepared by keepers.

Wang Quanfu, a keeper at the ski resort, said a big snowstorm turned the playground white, and judging by the way it frolicked around, Youyou seemed to be very excited about her new environment.

The resort lies at the highest altitude and northernmost area with the lowest temperatures for giant captive pandas. 

Resettlement of the pair is an attempt to expand the range of the species and could help researchers better understand the living conditions of pandas at high latitudes.