Born on June 12, 2017 to mother Shin Shin and father Ri Ri through natural mating at the Ueno Zoological Gardens, giant panda cub Xiang Xiang weighed a mere 147 grams at birth. She had grown to 61.6 kilograms as of last Wednesday, around half her mother's weight, and now consumes an adult panda diet consisting of bamboo and bamboo grass, the Tokyo zoo said in updates released ahead of her second birthday this week. 

The female panda cub seemed to be enjoying the rainy weather during the press visit on Monday, demonstrating a playful side as she climbed trees and jumped from the scaffold to a hammock. Breaking a bamboo shoot in half, she munched greedily on the pieces in each hand in turn.

"She is very curious and is learning things one at a time. We hope everyone will keep watching over her as she grows to 100 kg over the next year or so," said the zoo's deputy head Yasumasa Tomita.

China has ownership of Xiang Xiang as well as her parents, who were sent to Japan in 2011 under a 10-year lease agreement.

The popular panda cub was originally scheduled to return to China on her second birthday, but the date was pushed back to the end of 2020.

In celebration of Xiang Xiang's birthday on Wednesday, the zoo plans to hold an exhibit looking back on the baby panda's growth through her droppings. Staff will use the real droppings in their explanations on the day, and visitors can even take a whiff.

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