Two giant pandas sent by China arrive in Qatar ahead of World Cup

Bears' new enclosure designed to replicate dense forests of Sichuan province

A Chinese giant panda at the Panda Park in Al Khor, north Qatar. AFP

Qatar on Wednesday became the first country in the Middle East to receive Chinese giant pandas – Suhail and Soraya – who, in true Arabian Gulf fashion, took up residence in luxury air-conditioned quarters. AFP

The Chinese government sent the animals as a gift to mark the Fifa World Cup that starts on November 20. AFP

A child plays with a Chinese giant panda from behind the protective glass at the Panda Park in Al Khor on October 19, 2022. - Qatar became the first Middle Eastern country Wednesday to receive Chinese giant pandas -- Suhail and Soraya -- who, in true Gulf fashion, took up residence in luxury air-conditioned quarters. The Chinese government sent the animals as gift to mark the World Cup that starts November 20. China has not qualified for the event, but is a major customer for Qatar's natural gas. (Photo by DENOUR / AFP)

One of the pandas in their enclosure at the Panda park in Al Khor. AFP

One of the pair exploring the new enclosure. AFP

A Chinese giant panda in an enclosure at the Panda park in Al Khor. AFP

All Chinese giant pandas, no matter where they are born or live, are owned by the Chinese government. AFP

Suhail, a male panda sent by China to Qatar as a gift for the World Cup, in his shelter at the Panda House Garden in Al Khor, near Doha. AP

A young admirer watches one of the pandas that arrived on a special flight from China. Reuters

Al Khor Park Panda House, Qatar. Reuters

Unsurprisingly, the new attractions are a popular subject for amateur photographers. Reuters

Children pose for a photograph in front of a giant panda teddy on the day two pandas arrived from China. Reuters

The pair of Chinese giant pandas left their home in Sichuan province to fly across the continent to Qatar. Photo: @MofaQatar_EN / Twitter

Chinese ambassador to Qatar, Zhou Jian, before the welcoming ceremony. Photo: @MofaQatar_EN / Twitter

Si Hai and Jing Jing are taking on more local names on arrival in Qatar. Photo: @MofaQatar_EN / Twitter

The pair are being delivered from the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda. Photo: @MofaQatar_EN / Twitter

All involved in the move hope the pandas will acclimatise seamlessly. Photo: @MofaQatar_EN / Twitter

Two giant pandas sent to Qatar as a gift from China ahead of the World Cup have arrived in the Gulf state.

The bears will be kept in an enclosure designed to replicate the dense forests of China’s mountainous Sichuan province where they live.

Eight hundred kilograms of fresh bamboo will be flown in each week to feed them, AP reported.

The pandas were given new Arabic names before making the journey

Suhail, a 130kg male, was previously known as Jing Jing, while Soraya, a 70kg female, was called Si Hai.

They face 21 days of quarantine with two keepers after their arrival, said Al Khor's zoological director Tim Bouts.

"In a few weeks, or in a month's time, they will be ready to be shown to the world," he said.

Authorities have not yet said whether a new Panda House will be ready by the time the World Cup starts.

Qatar is expecting 1.2 million visitors for the month-long Fifa World Cup beginning on November 20. The gas-rich Gulf nation will be the first Arab country to host the world’s biggest sporting event.

“There was a lot of thinking that went into this building to make it, I think, the best building for pandas in the world,” Mr Bouts said.

Pandas are one of the world’s most threatened species, rarely reproducing in the wild. They rely on a diet of bamboo in the mountains of western China.

An estimated 1,800 pandas live in the wild, while another 500 are in zoos or reserves, mostly in Sichuan.

They are the unofficial national mascot of China, which has gifted pandas to 20 countries.

China’s ambassador to Qatar, Zhou Jian, said the two pandas “will live a happy life here and bring more happiness, joy and love to the people of Qatar and [the] world”.