Zoo finds partner for giant panda to relieve loneliness
Feb 26 2004
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/26/content_1334071.htm
TIANJIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A giant panda leased from Beijing
arrived at Tianjin Zoo in north China Thursday to begin her one-year
cohabitation with another female giant panda Lannir to relieve the
mammal's loneliness.
Yue Yue, the female giant panda from Beijing, will live in the
Tianjin Zoo's giant panda park with panda Lannir for one year at acost
of 120,000 yuan (14,000 US dollars), according to the leasing
contract.
Before the arrival of 23-year-old Yue Yue, Lannir, 24, was the
only giant panda in the zoo and had suffered bad appetite, loneliness
and boredom, according to the zoo.
Zoo keepers said Yue Yue would help Lannir live a happy life with
her beautiful fur bearing, good appetite and energetic characteristic.
Yue Yue had quickly adjusted to her new home and seemed to love
the apples and carrots prepared by the zoo immediately after her
arrival.
Yue Yue's arrival also sparked widespread interest in Tianjin and
a local company set up a donation fund for the giant panda to improve
her living standards.
Captured in Baoxing County of southwest China's Sichuan Province
in 1982, Yue Yue was hailed as a "mother hero" for she had produced 12
cubs, and eight of her offspring survived.
Yue Yue was also seen as an excellent diplomat since she had once
visited Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York as a friendly
ambassador.
China has put considerable resources into protecting the
endangered species. Their numbers have been depleted by low fertility,
logging, poaching and the periodic withering away of their staple
food, bamboo. Only approximately 1,000 giant pandas are estimated to
live in the wild, all in China, while some 140 live in captivity
around the world. Enditem
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