Panda "Mei Sheng": Mate wanted

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-12-2007 09:51

The US-born panda "Mei Sheng" came home on Monday. It's all part of a loan agreement which requires all pandas born abroad to be handed over to China once the animals mature.

Staff at Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province in southwest China are busy planning his daily life. They've also begun looking for a mate for him.

Finally home and yet it's a totally new place for the four-year-old panda to explore.

If everything goes well, Mei Sheng will be moved into the research center after a month.

Giant pandas are only able to conceive naturally once a year, and this period only lasts for a few days. They are very fussy when it comes to selecting a mate.

Zhang Hemin from Giant Panda Protection & Research said, "Mei Sheng's mate can not be blood related to him. She should also suit Mei Sheng's shape, age and looks. Having carried out research, we have found that there are six or seven giant pandas suitable."

This has now been narrowed down to three candidates Hai Zi, Guo Guo and Mao Mao. But experts say Mei Sheng will make the final choice.

The State Forestry Administration says 25 panda cubs have been born in captivity this year. There are 239 pandas living in captivity in China and 27 in foreign countries for long-term research cooperation projects.

Mei Sheng's arrival at the research center will benefit the diversification of the species and help encourage healthy reproduction.

Editor:Zhang Ning