Two giant pandas from China arrives in Spain
Posted:2007-9-10|Source:internet|No. of Views:
MADRID, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A pair of giant pandas from China arrived Saturday in Spain as a goodwill gesture from Beijing following Spanish King Juan Carlos' state visit to China earlier this year.
The pair, a 7-year-old male, Bing Xing, and a 4-year-old female, Hua Zui Ba, arrived at Madrid's Barajas airport, having left their home in the Chinese southwest city of Chengdu on Friday. They stayed overnight in Shanghai before the long flight.
Bing Xing, meaning "Ice Star", weighs 140 kg and is the heaviest at the Chengdu base. His bride Hua Zui Ba, which translates into "Flowery Mouth", weighs 93 kg and is also among the strongest.
China and Spain launched an international cooperation program on the protection of endangered pandas in June, during Spanish King Carlos' six-day state visit.
The king is scheduled to host a grand ceremony next Friday to welcome the two pandas, said Jesus Fernandez, general manager of the Madrid Zoo, earlier.
He said the pair will meet the Spanish public two weeks after their arrival, depending on how quickly they adapt to their new surroundings.
Fernandez said the lush bamboo forests in the suburbs of Madrid will provide ample food for the pandas, and in case of shortage, fresh bamboo can also be imported from neighboring countries including France and Portugal.
Any panda cubs born overseas to lent animals remain China's property.
With only around 1,590 pandas left in the wild, mostly in the western provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi, the animals are among the world's most endangered. About 210 cubs have been bred in captivity.
In 1983, the Madrid zoo saw the birth of Chu Lin, the first panda cub born through artificial insemination in Europe. Chu Lin survived 13 years.
Female pandas normally become sexually mature between four and five years old. Under ideal circumstances they can become pregnant once a year and give birth to one or two cubs at a time.
