pandamonium

Queen Sofia loves pandas!

2011-03-31T08:37:00.000+08:00

Low ink

2009-07-09T09:10:00.001+08:00

How to make a panda cake

2009-06-27T21:28:00.001+08:00

Giant panda bear does handstand!

2009-06-27T21:25:00.000+08:00

A panda baby looks like a stick of butter: PBS

2009-06-27T21:17:00.000+08:00

Wood harvest puts pandas at risk

2009-06-27T21:15:00.000+08:00

People and giant pandas are still coming into conflict.
So concludes a report into the firewood collecting habits of people living in one of China's largest panda reserves.
It found that over the past 30 years, people living in rural communities have ventured ever deeper into prime panda habitat to collect wood to burn.
Unless more is done to meet the needs of these rural households, the report says, they may continue to cut down prime forest, putting pandas at risk.
Collecting wood to use as fuel is extremely common around the developing world, with some reports suggesting that up to three billion people still rely on wood as a main source of energy to cook with and heat their homes.

Run For Your Lives! The Dreaded Elephandas are Loose!

2009-06-27T21:13:00.000+08:00

wrestling pandas, funky music

2009-04-21T07:39:00.001+08:00

dont forget, panda bear is still a bear.

2009-04-21T07:37:00.001+08:00

mmmmm panda cola

2009-04-21T07:31:00.000+08:00

sneaky panda makes his escape

2009-04-21T07:27:00.000+08:00

interviewing panda: round our house, we call him winston

2009-04-21T07:25:00.000+08:00

Panda: From birth to cub

2009-03-05T12:28:00.002+08:00

Panda Cupcake

2009-02-16T06:41:00.001+08:00

Panda Cupcake, originally uploaded by lookcupcake.

Only in Japan... panda graffiti!

2009-02-16T06:40:00.001+08:00

japan (19), originally uploaded by carolinkorea.

Bamboo feast for the panda

2009-02-16T06:37:00.001+08:00

pandas, originally uploaded by :/.

Pand takes the train in NYC

2009-02-16T06:29:00.001+08:00

IMG_0981, originally uploaded by bluesweaterfilms.

Panda sculpture made of plants

2009-02-16T06:26:00.001+08:00

Pandas!, originally uploaded by RhondaMK.

Sleepy panda bear is sleepy

2009-02-16T06:18:00.000+08:00

Panda bear scratching himself on a tree

2009-02-16T06:16:00.001+08:00

Panda bear chewing on milk crate

2009-02-16T06:14:00.001+08:00

Panda bear doing the macarena

2009-02-16T06:13:00.000+08:00

Baby panda bear examined by vet

2009-02-16T06:12:00.000+08:00

Panda bear having a little snack

2009-02-16T06:11:00.000+08:00

Tumbling panda bears

2009-02-16T06:10:00.000+08:00

Panda Bear with a blankie

2009-02-16T06:08:00.000+08:00

OHAI!

2009-02-04T03:01:00.000+08:00

Thanks for the link Katie!

God speed little panda, god speed.

2008-06-11T09:58:00.002+08:00

Panda bear killed in quake laid to rest in reserve

Updated Tue. Jun. 10 2008 6:10 PM ET

The Associated Press

WOLONG, China -- Mao Mao the panda's remains were gently laid in a wooden crate and wheeled to a patch of ground in China's famed Wolong Nature Reserve where a freshly dug grave awaited.

The center's director stood cap in hand and shoveled in a few spades of dirt. Then Mao Mao's keeper stepped forward crying, and arranged two apples and a piece of bread by the grave. Three minutes of silence followed as workers gathered around the grave.

Nearly a month after she was crushed to death when China's devastating earthquake collapsed the wall of her enclosure, 9-year-old Mao Mao was laid to rest Tuesday in a quiet corner of the Wolong panda breeding center.

The facility was badly damaged by the May 12 quake but officials initially thought all 64 pandas had survived. Then they discovered two were missing. Mao Mao's body was discovered Monday, buried under debris.

As He Changgui, Mao Mao's keeper, turned away red-eyed after Tuesday's burial, the director of U.S.-based Pandas International, Suzanne Braden, put her arm around him.

"You must look after her babies, OK?" said Braden, who had arrived a day earlier to survey the quake damage and help in the recovery. "And their babies."

He nodded. "I will go back to see her everyday," he said.

The loss of the panda, a mother of five, was a blow to the breeding program at Wolong, which continues to struggle to recover. The quake was centered just 20 miles away in the heart of Sichuan province's mountainous panda country, and five Wolong staff members were killed.

The endangered panda is revered as a national symbol in China, where about 1,600 pandas live in the wild, mostly in Sichuan and the neighboring province of Shaanxi. Another 180 have been bred in captivity.

For the staff at Wolong, Mao Mao's loss was all the more acute because she was killed in her prime, something that rarely happens, said David Wildt, who heads the Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington.

"I don't think it's surprising there's a great deal of concern over the loss of this animal," said Wildt, who has worked closely with the Chinese panda program for more than a decade.

"The people who work at Wolong are completely dedicated to those animals. Most of the animals have been born there. The way they are raised, they are handled a great deal. People get to know these animals. They're all named and have their own personalities."

Ron Swaisgood, who worked at Wolong for seven years, said he'd never seen a funeral service like the one Tuesday.

"I think that this is probably a result that everyone is feeling very sentimental about the earthquake and this tragic loss of life. She didn't die of old age," said Swaisgood, who co-heads the Giant Panda Conservation Unit at the San Diego Zoo.

More than 69,000 people were killed by the quake, which left 5 million people homeless, crushing buildings and tossing down boulders the size of cars. Frequent aftershocks continue to rattle the area.

Wedged in a narrow valley a few hours drive from the capital of Sichuan province, Wolong was pummeled by landslides on both sides. Panda enclosures were smashed, and the entry gate for visitors was buried under stones, forcing the 30 tourists there at the time to escape by climbing a ladder through the center's clinic.

Wolong's 14 panda cubs played outdoors Tuesday, less than 30 yards from a huge pile of debris left by a landslide. They had been at the same spot when the earthquake hit.

"They were so nervous when it happened," said Huang Yan, the deputy director of research. "I found seven of them huddled together."

The center remains closed to visitors, and Huang said it might not open again until next year. Six pandas have been sent to another reserve in Sichuan, and eight have been sent to Beijing for an Olympics stay at the Beijing Zoo that was planned before the quake.

Now one of the biggest questions is this year's breeding program. The quake hit during what the Chinese delicately call the "falling in love period," -- a 24- to 72-hour window each spring when female pandas are fertile -- and 18 females had been artificially inseminated. No one knows what the effects of the quake will be.

"We still don't know how many are pregnant," Huang said. "We still don't know what will happen."

Also shaken in the quake were the fragile collections of semen from more than 15 pandas, both dead and alive, meant to help the species' diversity. The samples are kept in aging freezers that are still run, like the rest of the center, on a generator -- which broke down briefly Tuesday.

"The first things they asked for after the quake were freezers," Braden said. "With only 1,600 pandas left in the wild, genetically every sperm is important."

With the funeral over, the center turned quiet Tuesday. Mao Mao's keeper, He, had cared for the panda since she was 3, speaking to her in the local Sichuan dialect as he worked.

"It's like you could say something and she would understand," he said. "If you were happy, she was happy too."

Mao Mao was brought to Wolong from the wild in 2000 and didn't have a name at first, said Swaisgood, so he called her "Wild Thing."

"She had a different personality than the other pandas ... When she was young she was a bit more independent and wilder, a little more sensitive to her environment. She very quickly endeared herself to all of us," he said.

Swaisgood said it was likely Mao Mao was pregnant when she was killed because she mated successfully in the spring.

"Mao Mao was a little unique genetically because she was brought in from the wild," Swaisgood said. That made her especially valuable, though her five cubs meant she had good genetic representation.

"With any breeding program you want to maintain a diverse gene pool to avoid inbreeding," he said.

At Wolong, the staff mark the days since the quake by little improvements: the return of cell phone service. The first open road to the outside world, less than two weeks ago. The crucial truckloads of bamboo for the pandas, one every five days.

But the program can't stay here, Huang said. It has to move to a safer location, with more room to grow for the new cubs.

"This place is dangerous," he said. "It's amazing that we only lost one panda." Another, named Xiao Xiao, remains missing.

As he spoke, there was a rumbling sound. Huang, in his office with broken windows, rose from his chair and looked up at the hills.

"Aftershock," he said. "We get one every day."

lol pandaz untie!

2008-05-16T10:49:00.000+08:00

more lol pandaz

2008-04-21T12:38:00.000+08:00

see more crazy cat pics

lol pandaz

2008-04-10T09:36:00.000+08:00

Panda makes "Lost" cameo. Indeed.

2008-03-16T03:17:00.002+08:00

Sex videos fail to engage pandas

2008-03-16T03:12:00.001+08:00

The video is pretty graphic. Qing Qing and Ha Lei tangle and slither about awkwardly on the floor of their panda enclosure.

Their encounter is filmed by one of the keepers. And scientists at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding now play this mating tape to other pandas in the hope that it will encourage them to do the same.

"Here you can see the female is very co-operative," says reproduction specialist Hou Rong - who is known here as the Goddess of Fertility. She watches the video closely.

The two pandas writhe about for a bit longer. Then they untangle. It may be best to stop male pandas from watching what comes next.

"The female is not co-operative," says Dr Hou laconically.

That is an understatement.

The tape shows the female, Qing Qing, attacking the male, Ha Lei. He runs off to the corner, looking sheepish.

Qing Qing looks angry. Apparently this is normal behaviour for pandas after mating.

Still at least Qing Qing and Ha Lei get their job done. That is quite something.

Crucial timing

Some species cannot seem to stop mating, but pandas cannot seem to start.

Female pandas are only interested in reproducing for two or three days a year. For males it is the same.

Luckily for the survival of the panda species, these days of interest happen to coincide.

Scientists here have to make the most of this brief mating season. There are only around 2,000 pandas left in the world - including about 250 in captivity.

So the trick for everyone here at the Chengdu reserve is to get their pandas together on the right days, and then nudge them along a bit by playing them the video of Qing Qing and Ha Lei.

No one here can remember who came up with the idea - it was possibly a behaviour specialist from abroad, they say.

And there is one problem - no one is sure whether or not the mating tapes make any difference.

"We don't know if its useful for pandas or not," says Dr Hou. "Some pandas are interested. Others are not interested. They prefer to eat or rest - and not pay attention to the video."

So the reserve lets us play the video to the pandas ourselves.

Headache?

We get together a small monitor and some loudspeakers, put some plastic bags onto our shoes and head into a small enclosure.

One panda lies on its back among piles of bamboo leaves. Another is asleep. It does not look like they have mating on their minds.

We set up a small TV screen in front of a seven-year-old female panda called Shu Qing. She is busy crunching her way through an apple.

We play her the tape of Qing Qing and Ha Lei. Shu Qing shows no interest. She is much more concerned about finishing her apple.

After a couple of minutes she glances over at the TV monitor. Then she seems lost in thought. She vaguely waves a paw, but nothing more.

So the video does not appear to work. Perhaps Shu Qing has a headache, or perhaps she just prefers apples to adult videos.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7250657.stm

Swarovski Shows Limited Edition Pandas

2008-03-16T03:10:00.003+08:00

Olympics and Pandas: Natural Fit

2008-03-16T03:07:00.001+08:00

Beijing to get more pandas for Olympic Games

Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

CHENGDU, March 13 (Xinhua) -- A giant panda breeding center in southwest China's Sichuan Province is loaning the Beijing Zoo up to 10 of the bears during the Olympic Games in August.

Eight to 10 of the animals, described as "strong, lovely and adaptable," are to be chosen by netizens from 16 candidates born in 2006 in the Wolong-based China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, Li Desheng, the center's deputy director, told Xinhua on Thursday.

The pandas will be on display with seven of their peers at the zoo in Beijing through November.

The zoo has already begun to upgrade its facilities to accommodate the additional animals. It also planned to build a giant panda museum that would document efforts to save the endangered species.

"We would like to take the opportunity of the Olympic Games, when millions of tourists are expected to flow into the national capital, to promote the protection of the rare pandas and their living environment," Li said.

To ensure the animals' health and safety in their new home, Wolong was sending a large group of panda keepers, vets and technicians to help take care of them during their stay.

Li said the exercise was more than just an exhibition, it also emphasized the motivation to "exchange technologies on panda breeding".

"Experts at the Beijing Zoo were artificially breeding giant pandas in 1964, the earliest in China. So it's also a good opportunity to learn from our counterparts."

The pandas' departure date for the capital will be announced at a press conference next week when the voting closes.

Last year, 31 pandas were born at breeding centers around the nation in the first 11 months. A total of 25 survived, according to the State Forestry Administration. The Wolong center welcomed 20 pandas alone with 16 survivals.

The giant panda, known for being sexually inactive, is among the world's most endangered animals due to shrinking habitat.

In November, China had 239 giant pandas in captivity, including128 at the Wolong center. About 1,590 other pandas were thought to be living in China's wilderness, mainly in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/13/content_7783834.htm

New Panda Movie!

2008-03-01T13:55:00.004+08:00

Jack Black is set to star in Kung Fu Panda, a new movie from DreamWorks debuting on June 6th.

Po the panda is a humble noodle maker who realizes his martial arts dreams when he sets out on a crazy journey.

That's all that I will reveal...visit the site to find out more!

Baby panda doing yoga

2008-02-26T09:09:00.000+08:00

THE stare

2008-02-26T09:07:00.001+08:00

THE stare
Originally uploaded by ucumari

Back to back

2008-02-26T09:06:00.001+08:00

Back to back
Originally uploaded by somesai

pet the panda hipster

2008-02-26T09:01:00.001+08:00

pretty panda
Originally uploaded by hi caitlin

Panda Express Soft Drinks

2008-02-26T09:00:00.001+08:00

Panda Express Soft Drinks
Originally uploaded by celikins

Little Su makes claim to being the cutest panda girl ever.

2008-02-26T08:59:00.001+08:00

Little Su makes claim to being the cutest panda girl ever.
Originally uploaded by kjdrill

Panda guitar hero

2008-02-26T08:53:00.001+08:00

Panda Rap

2008-02-26T08:51:00.001+08:00

White dudez get down to a TI beat. How can I resist?

World of Warcraft panda

2008-02-26T08:48:00.000+08:00

Little baby panda tribute video

2008-02-26T08:47:00.001+08:00

I'm too cute (or sexy) fowr my fuwr

2008-02-26T08:43:00.005+08:00

I'm too cute (or sexy) fowr my fuwr" caption by Osito Tai
Originally uploaded by somesai

Get down with your bad self panda.

Ice ice panda

2008-02-26T08:43:00.004+08:00

Ice ice panda
Originally uploaded by irrene

Ice ice panda says it all.

Two panda bear cubs in southwest China

2008-02-26T08:41:00.002+08:00

Two panda bear cubs in southwest China
Originally uploaded by gim2468

Looks like little aliens.

Panda Cub

2008-02-26T08:40:00.002+08:00

Panda Cub
Originally uploaded by anitalee

Look at that panda on a horse.

Chocolate panda biscuits

2008-02-26T08:39:00.002+08:00

Chocolate panda biscuits
Originally uploaded by +fatman+

Could go for one of these guys right now.

panda soup

2008-02-26T08:34:00.002+08:00

pandas..
Originally uploaded by anzyAprico

Yes. Panda in your soup.

Panda bento 10-19-06

2008-02-26T08:33:00.002+08:00

Panda bento 10-19-06
Originally uploaded by pkoceres

Looks tasty.

Panda escape!

2008-02-26T08:31:00.001+08:00

The Most Pathetic Baby Panda Ever

2008-02-26T08:30:00.001+08:00

Kung Fu Panda, starring Jack Black. Not a joke.

2008-02-26T08:27:00.001+08:00

Panda attacks some dude like crazy

2008-02-26T08:25:00.000+08:00

More Pandas

2007-10-26T21:45:00.001+08:00

Pandamania tribute video

2007-10-26T21:44:00.001+08:00

Panda!!

2007-10-26T21:43:00.001+08:00

Tai closed the door?

2007-10-26T21:42:00.001+08:00

Warcraft III panda

2007-10-26T21:39:00.001+08:00

Panda Sneeze Reenactment

2007-10-26T21:37:00.000+08:00

Watch Out for Pandas: They Bite!

2007-10-26T21:32:00.000+08:00

See the original story here

They might look sweet and cuddly, but don't be fooled by appearances. Pandas can be pretty fierce creatures.

Yesterday at a Beijing Zoo, eight-year-old Gu Gu was minding his own business, when 15-year old Li Xitao decided it would be a good idea to scale the wall, and climb into his cage. Why anybody would jump into a cage with a panda that weighs over 240 lbs during lunch time is beyond me, and Gu Gu wasn't too happy about the situation.

Instead of chomping on bamboo, he took a bite out of Li's legs, and Li was promptly escorted to the hospital.

This isn't the first time Gu Gu has had unwelcome visitors. Last year a drunk man jumped into the cage for a bear hug, and ended up with two "kisses" aka bite marks of his own on his legs.

In a sense, I sympathize with these two men. Who hasn't had their own unwelcome animal encounters? When I was 3, I wanted to give my grandparents' dog a kiss goodnight. Instead of giving him a kiss, I ended up jumping on him, and breaking his leg. He repaid the favor, and sent me to the emergency room with stitches on my face. I still have the little scars.

I wasn't much luckier the next year when I went to the petting zoo and got attacked by a goose, who bit me in the stomach.

Needless to say, I don't have any pets at this point in my life, even though after about age 5, my luck with animals miraculously changed. I haven't had any bad encounters since, but you can never be too careful.

Of course, I'm not really in the same league as the two men who jumped into the cage with the panda. For starters, a 24 pound dog is a bit more manageable than a 240 pound hungry panda bear. I also didn't have to scale a fence to have my unfortunate animal encounters.

Nonetheless, it's important to remember that there's a reason for cages at the zoo, and that animals don't simply exist for human entertainment. Still, despite this bad panda press, I think the sales of panda paraphernalia in China and worldwide is still pretty safe. The sale of Gu Gu material might even be more secure.

What celebrity doesn't mind some extra publicity?

Giant pandas: the facts

2007-10-26T21:31:00.000+08:00

The original article is here

Giant pandas are native to south and east Asia. They live in the mountains of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, central China.

First panda sent back to wild dies "in fight"

Bear that survived freak tornado shot dead by camper

Panda attacks boy in Beijing zoo

As its ursine appearance suggests, it is a member of the bear family; similar in size to an American black bear, the giant panda stands 2-3 feet tall at the shoulder and can be up to six feet long nose to tail. Males can weigh up to 250lb (115kg).


	Captive panda Chuang Chuang

Despite their Latin name, Carnivora ursidae, giant pandas are almost exclusively vegetarian; 99% of their diet consists of bamboo, with the rest being other grasses and occasional small animals. Their carnivorous heritage has left them ill-equipped to digest tough bamboo, and pandas need to eat for between 10 and 16 hours a day to get sufficient nutrients.

Their distinctive coloration, white with black patches around their muzzle, eyes, ears, legs and shoulders, is thought to provide them with camouflage in their habitat, dappled with light in the forest and often covered with snow, ice and rocks. Although their teddy-bear appearance is thought to be cute, the giant panda is a powerful and dangerous creature, and attacks on humans are not unheard of.

Pandas are slow to reproduce, as litters usually only consist of one cub, which will stay with its mother for up three years after birth. In the wild, therefore, a female panda can only have new young once every two years at most. This slow breeding rate, combined with a seeming reluctance to reproduce in captivity, has contributed to the panda's precarious grip on existence in the face of human-related survival pressures: they are threatened by habitat loss caused by farming and forest clearance, which has driven them from the lowlands into the remote mountain regions they now inhabit.

The giant panda is on the World Conservation Union's "Red List" of endangered animals, with as few as 1,600 left in the wild and about a tenth that number in zoos and breeding centres, mainly in China.

El panda del Zoo de Washington

2007-10-26T21:29:00.000+08:00

The dream achieved... checking out a panda at the zoo, and it does something.

College Girl does Panda Dance

2007-10-26T21:28:00.000+08:00

Tribute video: Loving the Panda

2007-10-26T21:27:00.001+08:00

The Panda Song

2007-10-26T21:25:00.000+08:00

Panda fighting!!

2007-10-26T21:22:00.000+08:00

Zoo borrows giant pandas, hopes for baby

2007-10-26T21:20:00.000+08:00

Original Story Here

Two giant pandas are expected to double visitor numbers to Adelaide Zoo after they arrive in about 12 months।

The pandas, Wangwang and Funi, will come to Adelaide on loan from China and and it is hoped the pair will breed to help ensure the survival of the endangered species.

They are expected to be a major attraction for tourists from interstate and overseas.

A spokesman said about 400,000 people currently visit the zoo each year but that could double within two years of the arrival of Wangwang and Funi. That's what happened at San Diego Zoo in the United States after two pandas took up residence.

The Federal Government today pledged $5 million to build a state-of-the-art panda enclosure if it is returned at next month's election.

"We are delighted to announce the funding today on behalf of the Coalition Government which will allow the zoo to host the only pair of pandas in the southern hemisphere," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

"The pandas are expected to arrive in the next 12 months and will require a purpose-built enclosure to maximise their comfort, breeding potential and allow visitors to enjoy a unique wildlife experience."

The panda loan was formalised by Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese President Hu Jintao during the recent APEC conference in Sydney.

Giant Pandas Lun Lun & Mei Lan at Atlanta Zoo

2007-06-03T06:49:00.001+08:00

Baby panda doing yoga

2007-05-03T08:28:00.001+08:00

Panda scratches ass

2007-05-03T08:26:00.000+08:00

Panda with soccer ball

2007-05-03T08:25:00.001+08:00

Panda gets out of tree

2007-05-03T08:23:00.000+08:00

CNN on Panda porn

2007-05-03T08:22:00.001+08:00

PANDA FIGHT!

2007-05-03T08:21:00.002+08:00

Mei Lan gets in the hammock

2007-05-03T08:21:00.001+08:00

Atlanta pandas

2007-05-03T08:20:00.001+08:00

Playing pandas

2007-05-03T08:17:00.001+08:00

Bejing panda

2007-05-03T08:15:00.000+08:00

Panda poop

2007-05-03T08:14:00.000+08:00

panda demands abortion -- the onion

2007-04-15T04:47:00.001+08:00

Panda Demands Abortion

Giant Panda 001

2007-04-06T23:04:00.001+08:00

Squishy Lani!

2007-04-06T22:58:00.001+08:00

Mei Lan is sleepy

2007-04-06T22:56:00.000+08:00

Panda love

2007-04-04T07:50:00.001+08:00

panda in washington

2007-03-30T00:54:00.000+08:00

planet of the pandas

2007-03-30T00:53:00.001+08:00

Panda Poo Paper

2007-03-30T00:47:00.000+08:00

From the TimesOnline

They are notoriously picky about their food and suffer from an exceptionally low sex drive. But when it comes to poo, pandas have few peers.
Entrepreneurial Chinese are looking for ways to make a profit from the 44lb (20kg) of excrement produced each day by a single adult male, and help the endangered animals to pay their way.
Officials at Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base are working on a scheme to convert the fibre-rich droppings into high-quality paper.
Pandas, which live mainly on a diet of bamboo, lack an efficient digestive tract and absorb less than 20 per cent of what they eat. Staff at the Chengdu base in Sichuan province, southwest China, are talking to local paper mills to find ways of processing a range of products from the panda waste, from greeting cards, bookmarks, notebooks and even fridge magnets.
Jing Jing, Ke Bi, Ya Ya and the 40 or so other pandas living at the Chengdu breeding base produce about 200 tonnes of excrement a year. Thus the pandas may begin to pay for their keep at the research centre, which spends millions of pounds on raising and breeding the rare animals.
Liao Jun, a researcher, said: “If the stools can be used to make souvenirs, we will not only make a profit but also help the environment.” He told The Times that it would be wasteful not to find a way to recycle panda droppings. “We aren’t interested in doing this for the profits but to recycle the waste. We can use the paper ourselves and we can sell whatever is left over.”
The idea was inspired by a visit to the Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand, where keepers have found that their two resident pandas have become a gift that gives. In a day-long process of cleaning the faeces, bleaching with chlorine and drying in the sun, the zoo has already earned a profit of £2,000 from panda paper.
Mr Liao said he expected to see items ranging from wrapping paper and paper handkerchiefs to tourist souvenirs such as fans and picture frames made from excrement. Visitors may even be able to gain a hands-on experience with the raw material if the research centre succeeds with plans to move production into a museum.
Miss Zhao, a base official, said: “Panda dung consists mainly of bamboo and fibre. So we find that visitors don’t find it disgusting at all.”

panda eating panda bread

2007-03-28T13:29:00.000+08:00

Panda drinking water

2007-03-28T13:26:00.001+08:00

Panda porn

2007-03-28T13:20:00.000+08:00

Poor pandas have a hard time breeding. Scientists hope to inspire them.

From FOXnews

CHIANG MAI, Thailand —

Chuang Chuang the panda has been spending his days in front of a big screen television watching panda porn.

Authorities at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand hope the images will encourage him to mate with his partner, Lin Hui, and serve as an instructional lesson in how to do it right.

So far, it's been a tough sell, the zoo's chief veterinarian, Kanika Limtrakul, said Tuesday.

"Chuang Chuang seems indifferent to the videos; he has no reaction to what he's seeing on TV," Kanika said. "But we're continuing to show him videos and hoping they will leave an impression."

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.

Pandas are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and a low reproduction rate. Females in the wild normally have a cub once every two to three years.

There are as few as 1,600 giant pandas in the mountain forests of central China, according to the zoo. An additional 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos, and about 20 live in zoos outside China.

Zoo officials say Chuang Chuang will be reunited with his partner in about another week. The two pandas have been kept separate since late last year as part of efforts to spark some romance between them.

Chuang Chuang recently was put on a strict diet because zoo officials said he was too heavy to mate. The diet trimmed him down from 331 pounds to 313 pounds.

Thailand rented 6-year-old Chuang Chuang and 5-year-old Lin Hui from China for $250,000 in October 2003 for 10 years. They are expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue from Thai and foreign tourists.

Thank you Boingboing

did somebody say "panda"?

2007-03-25T02:29:00.001+08:00

baby pandas doing their thing

2007-03-14T07:44:00.001+08:00

Save the pandas, not the whales

2007-03-14T07:40:00.000+08:00

red pandas need love too

2007-03-13T09:24:00.000+08:00

ghost face killahs

2007-03-12T06:46:00.000+08:00

Pandas are the SBDs of the animal kingdom. No other creature can look so cute but rip you to shreds in the blink of an eye.

Maybe Lucy Liu in Kill Bill but that's just a weird tangent.

Pandas are the reason why China's still communist. All that panda love needs to be reined in under strict totalitarianism.

Cute panda bear couple

2007-03-10T22:42:00.001+08:00