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Taipei zoo welcomes new stars, a pair of mainland pandas

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-24 16:50

BEIJING -- The Taipei zoo held a welcoming ceremony on Wednesday morning for its new residents -- a pair of giant pandas who have moved from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan.

Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, the two giant pandas from the mainland, are seen in the quarantine area at Taipei zoo in Muzha December 23, 2008. The Panda bears from Southwest Sichuan Province are a goodwill gift from Beijing. [Xinhua]

The 4-year-old bears, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, were "getting on well in their new environment" and were in good physical and psychological condition, said zoo spokesman Jason S.C. Chin.

"Last night they were quite calm. They woke up at about 11 o'clock to eat and went back to sleep close to each other four hours later," he said.

"Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan had a good appetite, eating about half of the bamboo brought with them from Sichuan. We found that they were also quite interested in the food the zoo prepared," he said.

The spokesman said the zoo would change the mix of the pandas' food, cutting the amount from the mainland while increasing that of Taiwan's home-grown bamboo, so the pair of bears would adapt to their new home.

The pandas arrived from their hometown in southwestern Sichuan Province after hours on the road and in the air. The Taipei zoo did not hold any welcoming ceremony on Tuesday night as the rare animals were "probably tired from the journey".

Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin reassured mainland people that "we will definitely take good care of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan so that they could have a healthy and happy life here and give birth soon."

Zhao Xuemin, head of the mainland delegation that sent the pair to Taipei, said relevant mainland departments "will not hesitate to offer technical support."

Zhao gave Hau the pandas' genetic records at the ceremony.

For the panda pair's first meal in their new home, the zoo prepared a special menu including Sichuan and Taiwan bamboo, along with 1.2 kg of steamed corn bread blended with both Sichuan and Taiwan flavors.

Zookeepers traveled to the Wolong panda breeding base in Sichuan to learn how to make the bread, a staple of one of the world's most endangered mammals.

About 20 experts and two of the pair's hometown keepers went to Taipei together with the pandas. They brought a week's worth of food, including more than 400 kg of bamboo, the pandas' main food.