Clinton Sees Chinese Pandas at Washington National Zoo

Clinton Sees Chinese Pandas at Washington National Zoo

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U.S. President Bill Clinton took his daughter and two young nephews to the Washington National Zoo on Jan.6 to see two Chinese pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian who arrived from China's Sichuan province last month. Clinton and his relatives marveled over their seemingly boundless appetites and watching them scramble up the snow-covered rocks of their chilly outdoor enclosure.

"They're beautiful and they're different and I think they're fascinating," Clinton said.

Four days before the pandas are officially presented to the public, Clinton was given a special tour of the panda exhibit and a detailed explanation of the lifestyles of the animals that have captured the fascination of many people.

The pandas are still in quarantine after they arrived in Washington on December 6 last year from a reserve in China's Sichuan province.

Clinton peppered the zoo's director, Lucy Spellman, with questions about the pandas and their habits, and expressed special interest in their diet and appetites.

He predicted that Tian Tian and Mei Xiang will be an instant hit with visitors to the National Zoo when the pandas make their public debut next Wednesday.

Tian Tian, a three-and-a-half year old male whose name means " more and more," weighs 80 kilograms and Mei Xiang, a two-and-a- half year old female whose name means "beautiful fragrance," weighs 50 kilograms.

The zoo has spent 8 million U.S. dollars for the reconstruction of the panda house and a 10-person team are responsible for the pandas' daily lives.

The two joined five others of their species in the United States, three at the San Diego Zoo and two at the Atlanta Zoo.

The pandas, both born at the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve, are on loan to the Washington National Zoo for scientific research purposes in accordance with an agreement reached between the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the U.S. zoo.

Chinese and American scientists are working together to develop an international breeding program to protect the endangered pandas, and the arrival of the two cubs, part of the program, is aimed to provide research opportunities for U.S. zoologists.

In 1972, China sent two pandas to the Washington National Zoo, a gift from the Chinese government following President Nixon's visit to China that year. Ling-Ling died of heart failure in 1992 at the age of 23, while Hsing-Hsing died of kidney disease in 1999, aged 28.

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing produced five offspring, but none lived longer than four days.

There are only about 1,000 pandas in the world now, most of them living in the mountains of the Sichuan Basin. The Wolong Reserve is a major habitat of the endangered species.