< Go back

Xiao Liwu is Two

Posted by Jeroen Jacobs | Date: 2014 07 29 | In: San Diego Zoo

14591772050_b2ae28d549_z1-620x413

The San Diego Zoo’s sixth giant panda cub, Xiao Liwu, celebrated his second birthday with an elaborate ice cake and tasty treats.

Here is the official report:

Our birthday boy picked an especially warm day for his party, and who knows how long his ice cake will last, but it was a thing of beauty! The two-year-old panda’s party had a beach theme, so his exhibit was decorated with cardboard beach balls, jellyfish, and seahorses dangling here and there, cardboard gift boxes, and a pile of wood shavings to represent beach sand.

The birthday cake was topped with a large blue “2,” which didn’t stay upright for long, and an orange “tiki torch” on each side. Mr. Wu seemed delighted with his surprise, climbing up on it to get every last bit of apple. When, most likely, his tongue and bottom got too cold, he retired to the log bridge to nap in the warm sun.

Our cake team spent several weeks preparing this special treat for Xiao Liwu. It was about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall, weighed over 100 pounds (45 kilograms), and had layers supported by bamboo poles. It was so colorful, too! Bright blues and oranges. Knowing that apples are “Mr. Wu’s” favorite snack, the team filled the cake with apple slices frozen in the ice blocks. Slices of carrots, yams, bamboo, and more apples were arranged in a depression on the top of the cake, which was drizzled with a yam paste “frosting.”

Source: San Diego Zoo

Share this Post:

Related Posts