Panda
The world’s oldest panda, ‘Ming Ming’ (a female), died aged 34 from kidney failure on 7th May, 2011 in China. She was taken to London Zoo in 1991, but she couldn’t build a successful relationship there, and returned to China. She loved eating and exercised too little, was unlucky in love, had no children, and spent most of her life alone, like many modern women. It is said that the average life expectancy of panda is 15 years, but she lived more than twice as long as the average!
In Japan, two giant pandas have been in the spotlight recently. The pair - Bili (the male) and Xiannu (the female) - arrived at Tokyo Ueno Zoo on 21st February, 2011, and they were given new names. Bili became 'Ri Ri' and Xiannu became 'Shin Shin'. The new names were chosen from over 40,000 suggestions from the public. The Tokyo metropolitan government is renting the pandas for about 79 million yen ($950,000) a year, for ten years. The payments are helping to rebuild a Sichuan panda sanctuary that was destroyed by the May 2008 earthquake, and also to fund Japan-China joint breeding projects.
The zoo’s first pair of pandas arrived in 1972; they were called Kang Kang and Lan Lan. When I was young, I went to the Tokyo Ueno Zoo with my family, and stood in a long queue to glance at the pandas! There was very little time to see them, but it was nice. I had a soft toy, mug, fork and spoon in the shape of a panda. The panda is a lovely and cuddly animal.
In Japan, two giant pandas have been in the spotlight recently. The pair - Bili (the male) and Xiannu (the female) - arrived at Tokyo Ueno Zoo on 21st February, 2011, and they were given new names. Bili became 'Ri Ri' and Xiannu became 'Shin Shin'. The new names were chosen from over 40,000 suggestions from the public. The Tokyo metropolitan government is renting the pandas for about 79 million yen ($950,000) a year, for ten years. The payments are helping to rebuild a Sichuan panda sanctuary that was destroyed by the May 2008 earthquake, and also to fund Japan-China joint breeding projects.
The zoo’s first pair of pandas arrived in 1972; they were called Kang Kang and Lan Lan. When I was young, I went to the Tokyo Ueno Zoo with my family, and stood in a long queue to glance at the pandas! There was very little time to see them, but it was nice. I had a soft toy, mug, fork and spoon in the shape of a panda. The panda is a lovely and cuddly animal.
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