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Australia to get China pandas by year-end

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-30 22:40

BEIJING: Australia's Adelaide Zoo will receive a pair of giant pandas from China by the end of this year, Chinese media said Friday.

The Australian zoo finished work on its panda enclosure in September and training of its panda keepers and veterinarians has been completed, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing Zhang Shanning of the State Forestry Administration.

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The chosen pair, Wangwang and Funi, currently reside at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Xinhua said.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang "promised to transport the two pandas within this year" in a meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Sydney on Friday morning, the report said.

Zhang was quoted as saying the male panda, Wangwang, was born on August 31, 2005, while the female, Funi, was born on August 23, 2006.

Adelaide Zoo has trained specialists in cultivation of the panda's primary food, bamboo, along with experts in panda breeding, transportation and management, he said.

China sends gifts of its unofficial national mascot to foreign nations as a sign of goodwill and friendship.

Only about 1,600 of the rare animals live in the wild, while another 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos.