China's Giant Panda diplomacy continues

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CANBERRA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Adelaide Zoo in South Australia

revealed on Wednesday that the arrival of two giant pandas on loan from

China had been delayed by quarantine arrangements.

 

The pandas called Wang Wang and Funi were due to begin their quarantine

period in Adelaide on Oct. 17.

 

However, a spokesperson for the Adelaide Zoo said the schedule had now

changed with public holidays in China affecting quarantine timelines.

 

The arrival of the pandas was now expected about two weeks later than

the original schedule.

 

The spokesperson said that international animal transfers were complex

and technical delays were common.

 

Meanwhile, the zoo said construction of the new panda exhibit was on

time and on budget with the opening planned for Dec. 13.

 

Australian governor-general Quentin Bryce will open the new facility

along with the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Zhang Junsai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/zoo-has-strategy-to-land-giant-pand\

as/article1299359/

Zoo

has strategy to land giant pandas

 

Popular exhibit would bring in an extra $9.3-million in revenue the first

year, officials say

 

Jennifer Lewington

 

From Thursday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Thursday, Sep. 24, 2009

03:19AM EDT

 

The Toronto Zoo wants to spend $83,000 to take another crack at landing a

pair of giant pandas from China for a 10-year stay.

 

A return of the crowd-pleasing animals has been a gleam in the eye of zoo

officials since they paid a short but popular visit in the late 1980s.

 

Of the $83,000 total, $63,000 would be for travel costs for a delegation of

up to nine people, and $20,000 for a consultant to rally support from the

provincial and federal governments. The zoo's board is scheduled to debate

the issue at its Oct. 2 meeting.

 

Any decision to hand over giant pandas to the zoo would be a matter of high

politics between Ottawa and the Chinese government. Under current practice,

the Chinese lend out the pandas for a decade, giving time for a male and

female to mate in captivity and allow researchers to study their habits.

 

A “first step” to securing pandas would be a visit to officials of the

Chongqing Zoo, which is twinned with its counterpart in Toronto, said Peter

Evans, the zoo's acting chief executive.

 

“Now presents a better opportunity [for success] than in the past,” he said,

citing improved Canada-China relations that involve a trip to China in

November by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

 

Despite strong growth in attendance, the zoo has suffered over the past year

after board defections and a messy divorce with its fundraising arm. The

board has aspirations to move ahead with an unprecedented fundraising drive

of $250-million over the next 10 years.

 

The pandas would be a major draw in the zoo's efforts to persuade

deep-pocketed donors to contribute to new facilities, including a

$15-million home for the animals.

 

A report to the board estimates that the pandas could bring in an extra

450,000 visitors and $9.3-million in revenue in the first year of an

exhibit.

 

Board member and councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38 Scarborough

Centre) said he has no plans to be part of the proposed delegation, but

supports the visit to Chongqing.

 

“You don't get anything unless you ask,” he said. “It is a national

government to national government decision, but we have to show we are

ready, willing and able to bring the pandas here.” Chinese zoo officials, he

added, “need to have to a comfort level that we will take care of these very

precious creatures.”

 

George Schaller, biologist and the first outsider ever

permitted by the Chinese to study the panda in the wild, notes that

the comic face that makes the panda such a crowd pleaser is linked

to the animals need to conserve energy through forestalling

conflict. Western zoos' desires for panda loans are actually

contributing to the demise of the panda. " Rent-a-panda " deals and

short term loans of giant pandas to western zoos, usually entails

large investments for both the zoos and the Chinese government,

which receives up to a half a million per panda. The zoos'

justification is that the exhibits, which draw people in droves,

can raise awareness about the precarious plight of the panda as

well as provide funds for China's conservation efforts. Critics

charge that the " rent-a-panda " programs disrupts the breeding's

cycle pattern. Therefore some loans are restricted to non-breeding

pandas over the age of 15. Because of the animal's enormous

popular appeal and the amount of money involved, the politics of

panda conservation are vicious, according to Devra Kleinman,

assistant director of research at Washington's National Zoo.