A seven-month-old Bengal tiger cub at Shanghai Zoo has captured the hearts of zoogoers and internet users with its feathery fur and cheery personality after overcoming a challenging start in life.
Named Hong Tang, meaning brown sugar, the female cub has been charming visitors with her adorably round face, reddish-brown stripes, and endless playful antics.
"I came here just to see her today. When I see this tiger, I feel like I'm looking at a muscle man acting cute," said a zoo visitor.
"She's a hit on the internet. I saw that she has developed a personality, so I wanted to see her in person," said another visitor.
"She's so cute, just like a big kitty-cat. I would love to pet her," another visitor said.
The fluffy cub was born on August 10, 2024. Tragically, she was rejected by her mother, which would have been a death sentence in the wild. Thankfully, zoo staff were miraculously able to nurse her, bringing her into healthy adolescence.
"She has a lively personality and acts cute for you. Every time we enter, she will lie at the door with her little head sticking out and looking at us. She particularly likes to watch the two striped hyenas quarreling next door," said Jiang Wenting, a zookeeper and caretaker for the cub.
Hong Tang's favorite foods are chicken and beef, according to the zookeeper.
"She is fluffy now. She loves chicken and beef. We also provide beef bones for her to bite," said Jiang.
At seven months old, the cub has reached the equivalent of eight or nine human years. Female tigers generally reach maturity at around three years old.
Tiger cub in Shanghai Zoo claws at heartstrings with struggle-to-stardom story
Chinese and foreign scientists have jointly carried out a series of exchange and investigation activities this week to respond to the United Nations' initiative on glacier preservation.
The United Nations declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, accompanied by the proclamation of the 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025.
A public advocacy and glacier investigation activity with the initiative of "Let the Glacier Cool" was launched at Dagu Glacier scenic area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a key place in global glacier preservation, from Monday to Tuesday.
In 2024, the Global Glacier Loss List (GGCL) project was jointly launched by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The project tracks recently disappeared, almost disappeared, and critically endangered glaciers worldwide. Among them, the Dagu Glacier is the only glacier in China on the list.
In this regard, Chinese and foreign glacier experts and scholars conducted in-depth investigations into the changes in Dagu Glacier during the event.
"Let China's voice be heard in the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, World Day for Glaciers, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences. We need to awaken people's awareness of glacier changes, and everyone can reduce emissions and live a green life to slow down global warming, so that we can prolong the life of glaciers," said Li Zhongqin, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Meanwhile, the Dagu Glacier International Academic Summit Forum was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, from Sunday to Tuesday.
The forum was jointly organized by the NIEER, the Center for Glacier Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) under the CAS, and the Sichuan Dagu Glacier Administration Bureau.
More than 100 glaciologists, climate policy experts and representatives of international organizations from more than 10 countries including China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the United States and the United Kingdom, attended the conference online and offline, and had in-depth dialogues on the scientific challenges and international cooperation in global glacier protection.
"Because of global warming, glaciers around the world are generally melting. For example, the latest research data released last month showed that the annual loss of global glaciers, if converted into water equivalent, is 273 billion tons. The public can clearly see that the glaciers are shrinking rapidly and disappearing rapidly," said Kang Shichang, director of the IMHE.
Global experts gather in Sichuan to respond to UN glacier initiative
