A pair of pandas chosen as a gift of the Chinese Central
Government?to Hong Kong in commemoration of the 10th
anniversary of the HK Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have
been placed in one-month isolation.
Wei Jicheng, chief of the animal quarantine section with Sichuan
Provincial Bureau of Quality Supervision and Quarantine, said they
had begun to put the panda couple in isolation since the start of
this month as required by the state laws and relevant regulations
regarding inspection and quarantine of giant pandas listed for
entry and exit.
According to Wei, the quarantine inspectors have been closely
monitoring the isolated panda pair, currently without proper names,
over a range of aspects including health status, behavior,
psychological development, external traits, and heredity.
"So far, the couple are healthy and energetic," said Wei. "They
are so lovely and I believe they will bring joys to their fans in
Hong Kong."
Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Donald Tsang asked the
central government to send another pair of healthy, lively and
fertile giant pandas last September. The request was approved in
October.
The Hong Kong SAR government has launched a competition called
"Name the Giant Pandas" on April 2, inviting the public to suggest
names for the new panda couple as Hong Kong people's welcome
gesture and their love towards the "national treasures."
When the competition ended on Wednesday, the government had
received nearly 9,000 sets of names and the result would be
announced in two weeks, according to the Ocean Park Hong Kong, the
future home of the pandas.
The two pandas were selected out of 15 candidates after rigorous
physical examinations on their weight, height, teeth, heart rate,
breath, body temperature, blood and organs.
Both pandas were born in August 2005 at the China Panda
Protection and Research Center in Wolong, Sichuan Province. The male young panda was presently
identified as No. 606 and the female as No. 610.
The panda pair will be flown to Hong Kong via a Boeing 747-400F
cargo plane on a charter flight that will be operated by China
Southern Airlines (CSA) around May 1, according to corporate
sources from CSA.
It is said that the panda pair will also have to undergo another
month-long isolation before they can meet the public in late
June.
The Central Government of China presented the first pair of
pandas, "An An", 28, and "Jia Jia,", 29, to Hong Kong in 1999 as a
gift to HKSAR. Both An An and Jia Jia now live at Ocean Park.
By December 2006, China has bred 217 pandas at its research
centers and zoos in Beijing, Sichuan and Shaanxi.
On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was handed over to Chinese rule,
ending more than 300 years of rule by the British, and the HK
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) came into being on the same
day.
(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2007)