「画面越しよりかわいい」　韓国の双子パンダ、名前発表

【龍仁（韓国）ＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国・ソウル近郊のテーマパークでこのほど、生後１００日を迎えた双子のパンダの命名式が行われた。（写真は、式典で披露された双子パンダ）
　２頭はいずれも雌で、それぞれ「叡宝（ルイバオ）」と「輝宝（フイバオ）」と名付けられた。７月にテーマパーク内の動物園で誕生して以来、大きな注目を集めている。同園は成長を記録した動画をユーチューブチャンネルに投稿しており、再生回数は数百万回に上る。
　同園によると、名前を決めるオンライン投票には約５０万人が参加したが、命名式には一握りの幸運なファンが招待された。
　出席した大学生のイさん（２０）は、パンダを見るために動物園を訪れたのは過去２か月でこれが３回目だと話した。命名式に「来ることができて光栄」だとし、双子パンダは「画面越しに見るよりかわいい」と喜んだ。
　飼育員は報道陣に対し、双子パンダは極めて健康で、歯が生え始め、動き回るようになっていると明かし、「これまで双子は育てたことがないのでとても不安だが、成長を見るのが幸せ。ソーシャルメディアで見守っている人々も同じ気持ちだと思う」と語った。
　２頭の一般公開は、来年初頭になる見通し。
　双子の両親は、中国の習近平国家主席から贈られ、２０１６年に韓国にやって来た「愛宝（アイバオ）」と「楽宝（ローバオ）」。２頭の間には２０年にも、雌のパンダ「福宝（フーバオ）」が生まれている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/10/27-16:57）

South Korea got its first up-close look at its new pair of baby giant pandas Thursday at a name-revealing ceremony that doubled as an early celebration of the 100 days since their birth.
The female cubs -- named Rui Bao, or wise treasure, and Hui Bao, shining treasure -- were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul on July 7, and have since been showered with an outpouring of excitement and affection.
Some half a million panda lovers helped choose their names via online voting, the zoo said, with a handful of lucky fans invited to Thursday's ceremony.
Lee Da-young, a 20-year-old university student in attendance, said it was her third visit to the zoo in two months to see the pandas.
I've always liked pandas, so I came to Everland last week and also a month ago, Lee told AFP. But I'm honoured to have come again on such a great opportunity.
They are even cuter in real life than they appear on screen, she said.
Since their birth 97 days ago, the zoo has posted videos documenting the pandas' growth on its YouTube channel that have garnered millions of views.
I feel healed whenever I watch their videos, said 31-year-old office worker Jung Hyun-ye, who regularly watches the twice-weekly clips.
I think I'm healed by their harmless expressions and relaxed manner, she added.
The cubs, which have just begun teething and crawling, are very healthy, zookeeper Kang Chul-won told reporters.
We've never raised twins before, so we were very nervous, but I was happy seeing them grow up and I think the people watching them via social media were also happy, he said.
They will likely be revealed to the public early next year, the zoo said in a statement.
Ai Bao and Le Bao, the twins' parents, arrived in South Korea in 2016 as a state gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In July 2020, the pair gave birth to a daughter, Fu Bao, the first giant panda born in South Korea via natural breeding.
China has long deployed panda diplomacy, gifting the animals to various countries, often to further its foreign policy aims.
Beijing only loans pandas to foreign zoos, which must usually return any offspring within a few years of their birth to join the country's breeding programme.