ID :
162922
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 07:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/162922
The shortlink copeid
Pair of Pandas Arrive in Tokyo's Ueno Zoo
Tokyo, Feb. 21 (Jiji Press)--A pair of giant pandas arrived in Japan on Monday from China, a much-awaited development that may help Tokyo's Ueno Zoo boost the number of visitors to the oldest zoo in Japan.
After arriving at Narita International Airport near Tokyo from the China Wildlife Conservation Association in Sichuan Province, the two five-year-old pandas--male Bili and female Xiannu--were delivered to the zoo.
The pandas will make a public debut next month, allowing visitors to enjoy seeing pandas for the first time in three years. There have been no pandas at the zoo since Ling Ling, a male, died in April 2008.
The two new pandas, leased from China under a 10-year contract, were immediately moved to a cage that the zoo operator spent about 90 million yen to refurbish.
Their new home is equipped with a bigger bathing pond and heaters near the windows of the cage, allowing them to warm themselves in front of the visitors.
Some of the big trees in the cage will be enclosed with electric fences to prevent the young pandas from climbing and falling off the trees.
In related developments, the Tokyo metropolitan government, which has solicited names from some 40,000 people nationwide, is now working to determine Japanese names for the pandas.
Under the lease contract, the zoo operator will pay 950,000 dollars to the Chinese side as a contribution to wild animal protection. If the pandas become mates and the female gives birth to a cub, it will be moved to China at the age of two.
China gave the zoo two pandas--Kang Kang and Lan Lan--in 1972 to mark the normalization of its diplomatic relations with Japan. It was the first time for a Japanese zoo to have pandas.
The zoo has so far had a total of nine pandas including Tong Tong, who was born there.
Since reaching 7.46 million in fiscal 1974 thanks to the popularity of Kang Kang and Lan Lan, the number of visitors to Ueno Zoo has dropped in line with leisure diversification. In fiscal 2008, it received fewer than three million visitors.
After arriving at Narita International Airport near Tokyo from the China Wildlife Conservation Association in Sichuan Province, the two five-year-old pandas--male Bili and female Xiannu--were delivered to the zoo.
The pandas will make a public debut next month, allowing visitors to enjoy seeing pandas for the first time in three years. There have been no pandas at the zoo since Ling Ling, a male, died in April 2008.
The two new pandas, leased from China under a 10-year contract, were immediately moved to a cage that the zoo operator spent about 90 million yen to refurbish.
Their new home is equipped with a bigger bathing pond and heaters near the windows of the cage, allowing them to warm themselves in front of the visitors.
Some of the big trees in the cage will be enclosed with electric fences to prevent the young pandas from climbing and falling off the trees.
In related developments, the Tokyo metropolitan government, which has solicited names from some 40,000 people nationwide, is now working to determine Japanese names for the pandas.
Under the lease contract, the zoo operator will pay 950,000 dollars to the Chinese side as a contribution to wild animal protection. If the pandas become mates and the female gives birth to a cub, it will be moved to China at the age of two.
China gave the zoo two pandas--Kang Kang and Lan Lan--in 1972 to mark the normalization of its diplomatic relations with Japan. It was the first time for a Japanese zoo to have pandas.
The zoo has so far had a total of nine pandas including Tong Tong, who was born there.
Since reaching 7.46 million in fiscal 1974 thanks to the popularity of Kang Kang and Lan Lan, the number of visitors to Ueno Zoo has dropped in line with leisure diversification. In fiscal 2008, it received fewer than three million visitors.
