Oh how I love the pandas...
BEIJING: Eighteen panda cubs, blinking under the bright lights of live television, have been presented with their names with all the glitz and glamour of a movie premiere.
The 18 were paraded in baby prams on Chinese state television on Saturday after their names had been chosen through an internet poll. The naming of panda cubs is customary when they are weaned and released into their "nursery garden", which was to happen later in the day.
"The names should be civilised, standard, creative and able to highlight the panda's character as a national treasure," the website said on a page where ideas could be submitted and votes cast.
The 18 cubs were born to 11 mothers that were raised in captivity in the south-western province of Sichuan.
The names included Fuwa, meaning friendly, for baby No.9, the same as the Beijing Olympics mascot. Baby No.1 was named Sixue ("miss the snow"), twins were named Meixi and Meixin (beautiful), and the naughtiest was called Taotao (mischievous).
Thirty-four pandas were born in captivity in China last year, but four infants died, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The giant panda is one of the world's most threatened species and is found only in China. An estimated 1600 wild pandas live in reserves in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 217 are kept in captivity.
The 18 were paraded in baby prams on Chinese state television on Saturday after their names had been chosen through an internet poll. The naming of panda cubs is customary when they are weaned and released into their "nursery garden", which was to happen later in the day.
"The names should be civilised, standard, creative and able to highlight the panda's character as a national treasure," the website said on a page where ideas could be submitted and votes cast.
The 18 cubs were born to 11 mothers that were raised in captivity in the south-western province of Sichuan.
The names included Fuwa, meaning friendly, for baby No.9, the same as the Beijing Olympics mascot. Baby No.1 was named Sixue ("miss the snow"), twins were named Meixi and Meixin (beautiful), and the naughtiest was called Taotao (mischievous).
Thirty-four pandas were born in captivity in China last year, but four infants died, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The giant panda is one of the world's most threatened species and is found only in China. An estimated 1600 wild pandas live in reserves in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 217 are kept in captivity.
