China
2 Chinese pandas to start new life in Spain
WATCH VIDEO
Source: CCTV.com | 09-10-2007 09:23
Special Report: Giant Panda |
Seven-year-old Chinese giant Panda "Bing Xing" looks out from his cage upon arriving at Madrid's Barajas airport September 8, 2007. "Bing Xing" and four-year-old female "Hua Zui Ba" were welcomed like heads of state when they arrived in Spain to begin a new life in an air-conditioned pagoda and custom built gardens at Madrid zoo. REUTERS/Susana Vera (SPAIN)
A pair of giant pandas has arrived in Spain, where they will stay for ten years. And three other pandas elsewhere in the world have just celebrated their birthdays.
7-year-old male Bing Xing and 4-year-old female Hua Zui Ba arrived in Madrid on Friday. The couple will stay at Madrid Zoo, where lush bamboo forests will provide ample food for them. Their decade-long stay in Spain will be part of a cooperation program for the protection of pandas between China and Spain.
Ricardo Esteban, director Madrid Zoo, said, "It's a step more for breeding in captivity, for the special protection of an animal, as is the Panda bear, so gravely menaced. We know they are highly protected animals and we are going to collaborate with this protection."
The King of Spain will hold a grand ceremony to welcome the pair. The pandas are expected to meet the public in about a fortnight, depending on how quickly they adapt to their new surroundings.
At Japan's Shirahama Adventure World, Pandas Ryuhin and Shuhin celebrated their fourth birthday on Saturday. Born at the park in 2003, the twins are heading back to China's Chengdu, home of the panda at the end of October.
And in the United States, Atlanta Zoo has thrown a birthday party for panda cub Mei Lan on her first birthday. Journalists were invited to report on the event. Officials from China and the US joined in the festivities.
With only around 1,600 living in the wild, the giant panda is one of the world's most endangered animals. Before 1982, 23 pandas were given to other countries as gifts. And 27 pandas are now living overseas for scientific research.
