China panda keeper finalists begin training
Twelve finalists in a worldwide contest to be a panda keeper in China
for one month have begun their training, learning to feed and study the
endangered animals, organisers said on Friday.
|
Two Chinese Pandas. Google |
Hailing from Sweden, South Africa, Japan and other countries, the
finalists arrived at the Chengdu Panda Base in southwestern China's
Sichuan province on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the base told AFP.
They are the lucky few remaining from a pool of more than 60,000
hopefuls who had applied for the rare chance to work as a panda keeper
for one month.
They will be trained on how to feed the pandas, interact with cubs,
and monitor their growth, the spokeswoman said.
The six winners of the competition, organised by the base and
conservation group WWF, will be chosen on September 29 based on how well
they look after the pandas, understand conservation, and how good their
communication skills are.
They will then spend a month working as panda keepers in Chengdu,
blogging about their experiences (www.pandahome.com) to help raise
awareness of the endangered animal's plight.
"The six winners will also be hosted by local families," the
spokeswoman, who refused to be named, said.
There are just 1,600 pandas left in the wild and nearly 300 others
are in captive-bred programmes worldwide, mainly in China, according to
official reports.
AFP |
