The cub eats at the zoo on Monday, a day before his departure. [Photo/Xinhua]

"Bei Bei is a male and will mate under the reproduction program. Training him how to stand will increase his stamina during mating, while sitting is the best posture for a physical checkup," she said.

Su, who lives in downtown Ya'an, arrives at the Bifengxia base before 9 am each day.

Her daily routine involves visiting the panda den to check on the occupant. If nothing is wrong, she cleans the den and feeds the panda four times before taking a bus just before 5 pm to the downtown area, where most employees at the base live in dormitory buildings.

Her routine with Bei Bei will follow this pattern, she said.

"Pandas sleep for about 12 hours a day. They wake two or three times during the night to eat and then fall asleep. I will install an app on my phone after Bei Bei arrives at the base so that I can monitor him at night from my dormitory."

Pandas only eat the central part of the bamboo plant, which at this time of year is just the stalk, so they waste a lot. Visitors to the Bifengxia base can see the bamboo being transported by trucks.

"Keepers at the base feed pandas bamboo, bamboo shoots, a special bun, carrots and apples. We give each panda 30 kilograms of bamboo a day, and they eat more than 10 kilograms daily, but only the best part of the bamboo," Su said.

Reporting by Huang Zhiling in Ya'an, Sichuan and Zhao Huanxin in Washington

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