Panda twins back to China

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Source: CCTV.com | 10-29-2007 14:08

A pair of giant panda twins born in Japan are now back in their native habitat of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

They'll take up residence at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu. The twins were welcomed by locals and tourists.

Four-year-old Ryuhin and Shuhin received a warm welcome by hundreds of panda fans and tourists from home and abroad. However, panda fans in Japan say they'll miss the special twins.

A Japanese panda fan said, "We should send the pandas back home to China. But it's still a loss to us Japanese."

The pandas would be quarantined in a newly-built house at the base for two to three months. They will enjoy a quiet environment and adapt themselves to a new diet before meeting visitors.

The pair were born to Yong Ming and Mei Mei in 2003. The Chengdu research base leased the giant pandas to western Japan's Adventure World Park Zoo in both 1994 and 2000. The arrangement was set up under a Sino-Japanese cooperation program on giant panda breeding.

China has launched long-term cooperation on giant panda breeding with Japan, the United States and Spain since 1994. 25 pandas have been leased to these countries.

Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world. There are fewer than 16 hundred giant pandas living in the wild, most of them living in Southwest China's mountainous regions. By the end of last year, about 200 giant pandas had lived in captivity in China.

Editor:Zhang Ning