From Jan. 22 to April 22, after three months of lockdown Pangniu and Chunqiao, two giant pandas at Wuhan Zoo in Wuhan of central China's Hubei province, the former epicenter of COVID-19, welcomed new visitors recently. Without their normal routine and activities, the two pandas have gained about 7.5 kg and 5 kg of weight respectively during the lockdown period.

Panda Chunqiao in the zoo. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

At the panda house visitors should have been able to experience a novelty activity -- smelling panda excrement to search for hints of bamboo leaves, but indoor venues are currently closed to avoid crowds.

The outdoor animal venues in the Wuhan Zoo are open to the public as usual, however the four venues for pandas, hippopotamus, rhinoceros and baboons, are currently accessible for outdoor viewing only.

Wuhan Zoo welcomed a total of 1,030 visitors on the first day of its reopening and 1,101 on the second, during the epidemic prevention and control period the zoo's instant flow capacity is about 15,000 people.

(Photo/Chinanews.com)

On the morning of the reopening on April 22, the zoo's official WeChat account released a "thank-you note", saying that the zoo received much support from the community when the animals' feed supply was temporarily cut off due to the epidemic.

Throughout the closing, the staff and keepers stayed busy disinfecting the zoo, taking care of the animals and communicating with citizens on the Internet, working to improve and maintain the animals' living environment.

Some of the improvements can be seen in the exhibition area of the francois's leaf monkey, which has been "well decorated" by a professional team, adding beautiful climbing frames to more closely resemble the forest. The keepers have also designed a series of bizarre feeding devices in the shapes of bamboo balls, baskets, fruit burger bunches, gift bags and safe deposit boxes.