Scotland to welcome panda pair

CHENGDU / LONDON - Two of China's pandas will head to Scotland on Sunday morning to make their debut at Edinburgh Zoo, a leading panda expert with the Bifengxia base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Ya'an, Sichuan province, said on Monday.

Male panda Yang Guang, or "Sunshine", and his mate Tian Tian, or "Sweetie", have been quarantined since mid-October and are healthy, Li Desheng, deputy base chief, told China Daily.

Yang Guang weighs about 120 kg and Tian Tian 110 kg, although the pandas' weight varies from day to day.

"Pandas are great eaters who consume between 10 and 15 kg of bamboo a day. Because of the food intake, pandas can be 7 or 8 kg heavier than the previous day," Li said.

Hugh Roberts, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said: "I'm the happiest person in the world We have been looking forward to this moment for five years now."

"The arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang is an historic occasion for the zoo, for Scotland, and for the UK as a whole. Our dedicated team at the zoo has worked tirelessly to create a world-class enclosure to house our newest additions which will offer visitors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view these extraordinary animals."

Both pandas are in the breeding periods of their lives, and they are widely expected to produce cubs during their 10-year stay at the Edinburgh Zoo.

Tian Tian first gave birth two years ago when her twins were born at the Bifengxia base, Li said.

To help the two pandas adapt, their keeper Xie Hao and veterinarian Tang Chunxiang from Bifengxia base will travel with them to the UK.

A send-off ceremony will be held at the base on Sunday, he said.

The zoo has said that it would invest 300,000 pounds ($465,000) to build a new panda habitat.

Cameras in the pandas' habitat will allow people to watch the pair in the open enclosure as well as in their separate rooms. But their activities in a cavernous boudoir will be kept private.

The pandas were selected as goodwill ambassadors after Vice-Premier Li Keqiang visited Britain in January and oversaw a panda loan agreement signed between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which owns Edinburgh Zoo.

Their arrival will mark the return of the giant panda to the British public's view, 17 years after Ming Ming left the UK in 1994.

Prior to Ming Ming, China had sent two pandas, Jia Jia and Jing Jiang, to Britain in 1974. The pair did not give birth to any cubs there, but were widely adored at London Zoo.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/29/2011 page10)