عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

A Mascot Star Is Born: Bing Dwen Dwen’s Rise from Obscurity

A person poses for pictures in front of an installation featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Mascot amidst a snowfall on a street in Beijing, China February 13, 2022. (Reuters)
A person poses for pictures in front of an installation featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Mascot amidst a snowfall on a street in Beijing, China February 13, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

A Mascot Star Is Born: Bing Dwen Dwen’s Rise from Obscurity

A person poses for pictures in front of an installation featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Mascot amidst a snowfall on a street in Beijing, China February 13, 2022. (Reuters)
A person poses for pictures in front of an installation featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Mascot amidst a snowfall on a street in Beijing, China February 13, 2022. (Reuters)

The mascot Bing Dwen Dwen has been an unexpected star of the Beijing Olympics but the roly-poly panda's fame may prove fleeting after the Feb. 20 closing ceremony.

Bing Dwen Dwen, which translates to "Ice Panda", made little splash when introduced about two-and-a-half years ago, eliciting a collective yawn from social media over yet another panda character for a big Chinese event.

It was propelled to stardom on Feb. 2, when Japanese television journalist Gido Tsujioka showed Bing Dwen Dwen-themed items during a broadcast, a clip of which went viral.

Related topic views that day reached 300 million on China's Weibo social media platform, from 760,164 a day earlier. They doubled again on Feb. 4, the day of the Olympics opening ceremony, and have averaged 400 million since.

Games organizers were caught unprepared, with thousands of fans lining up in sub-freezing temperatures to buy merchandise - from magnets and key chains to bags and stuffed toys - and factories scrambling to make more.

Chinese media fueled the frenzy, showing footage of soldiers marching in front of a Bing Dwen Dwen figure at the base of Mount Everest, while an officially licensed store was selling a limited edition version encrusted in fake diamonds for 2,022 yuan ($315).

Many people wrote online that queuing up for and buying the merchandise is their way of engaging with the Games. Because of COVID-19, no ordinary spectators have been allowed to watch the sports and the torch relay was shortened to three days and off-limits to spectators.

Organizers have not disclosed sales figures but some analysts estimate revenue from Beijing Olympic licensed products could reach 2.5 billion yuan ($395 million).

Bing Dwen Dwen's turn in the spotlight has not been without incident.

State broadcaster CCTV was criticized on social media after a male reporter conducted an interview in a Bing Dwen Dwen suit. Weibo users complained that it ruined the mascot's cuteness by speaking and violated the International Olympic Committee's guideline that mascots are gender neutral. The segment was later removed from the broadcaster's website.

Scalpers were punished for selling merchandise at inflated prices and on Monday, the China Youth Daily reported that a woman selling pirated Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise was jailed for a year and fined 40,000 yuan.

While scarcity has contributed to Bing Dwen Dwen's appeal, organizers have promised to boost supplies. Reports on Sunday of new merchandise arriving in Beijing led to speculation the frenzy would soon cool.

One Weibo user said Bing Dwen Dwen gear would become like masks - in hot demand when COVID started, cheap and plentiful now. Others posted photos of their neglected 2008 Beijing Games memorabilia.

"I don't know how long Bing Dwen Dwen can maintain its fame. I cannot get one now, but I guess it will soon be two-for-one once it's over the hill," one person wrote.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Zoo in Spain Helps Elderly Elephants Age Gracefully

Two old African elephants Bully, left, and Susi, stand inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hernan Muñoz)
Two old African elephants Bully, left, and Susi, stand inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hernan Muñoz)
TT
20
TT

Zoo in Spain Helps Elderly Elephants Age Gracefully

Two old African elephants Bully, left, and Susi, stand inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hernan Muñoz)
Two old African elephants Bully, left, and Susi, stand inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Hernan Muñoz)

At the Barcelona Zoo, a 40-year-old African elephant places her foot through the metal barrier where a zookeeper gently scrubs its sole — the beloved pachyderm gets her “pedicure,” along with apple slices every day.
The treatment is part of the zoo’s specialized geriatric care for aging animals that cannot be reintroduced into the wild as zoos world over increasingly emphasize lifelong care, The Associated Press reported.
“Sending them back into nature would be an error," said Pilar Padilla, head of the zoo's mammal care. "It is very likely they wouldn’t survive.”
Zoos have undergone a rethink in recent decades with the emphasis on the conservation of species and education, moving away from the past paradigm that often displayed exotic animals as a spectacle.
The new approach includes knowing how to adapt to the needs of aging animals, which has led zoos to create bigger, more nature-like enclosures, such as the Sahel-Savannah area at the zoo in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
Along with breeding programs to reintroduce fit animals into nature, zoos today want to ensure that animals living longer due to advancements in veterinary care can age gracefully, said Martín Zordan, the CEO of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or WAZA.
“Specialized geriatric care is becoming increasingly essential," Zordan told AP at the organization’s Barcelona offices.
Zordan said that just like older people, elderly animals require more care: regular health checks, arthritis treatment, softer foods or nutritional supplements, adapted living spaces and monitoring of mental and behavioral health.
Along with caring for a pair of aging elephants, the Barcelona Zoo is also the home for a 15-year-old wolf, a leopard and a tiger who are both 17, as well as some older birds — including a flock of senior flamencos.
It's not alone — several zoos in the United States, for example, highlight their treatment of older animals, such as the zoos in Baltimore and Baton Rouge.
A study of grief Zookeepers at the Barcelona Zoo, not far from the city’s Mediterranean coastline, are closely monitoring its two aging female pachyderms, Susi and Bully (pronounced BUH'-yi), as they cope with the recent death of Yoyo, their former pen-mate and long-time companion.
Yoyo died in December at age 54.
Susi, at 52, is now among the oldest known African elephants in captivity, even though WAZA said the age of animals born in the wild is approximate. Bully, who is 40, is also considered old for an African elephant. All three were captured in the wild and spent time in circuses an other zoos before coming to Barcelona.
The zoo is now working with the University of Barcelona to study the impact of Yoyo's death on Susi and Bully. It’s the first study of its kind, focused on elephants not from the same family after the death of a long-time companion, Padilla told The Associated Press during a recent visit to the zoo’s elephant enclosure.
At first, Susi and Bully showed their shock by not eating, but are now adapting well and turning to one another, including even sharing food, Padilla said, adding that Susi has taken on the dominant role that Yoyo had.
The proof is in the teeth For elephants, their teeth are the real age test.
“What marks the decline of the animal is the wear on their teeth,” Barcelona zookeeper José María Santamaría said after finishing the Bully’s pedicure. “They go through six sets of molars during their life, and when they reach around 40 years old they lose the last set.”
Susi and Bully require daily checkups, food suited for their now molar-less mouths and extra attention to their legs — hence the daily pedicures and the enclosure's soft sandy floor to cushion aching feet.
“Those are the sort of considerations taken because we care about these animals living comfortably and leading lives with dignity,” Zordan said.