She speaks Panda and English – but not Chinese
She speaks Panda and English – but not Chinese
Chinese zookeepers are advertising for a tutor to teach Chinese to an American-born giant panda arriving this week in her parents' homeland.
The language lessons and a special diet are part of the red-carpet welcome being rolled out for 3-year-old Mei Lan, or Beautiful Orchid, by Chinese caretakers ahead of her arrival Friday on a special FedEx flight from the U.S.
Under a deal between China and the U.S., all giant pandas originally from China are only lent out to foreign zoos for scientific study for several years. They and any cubs they produce must all return to China eventually.
Determined to help Mei Lan adapt more quickly to her new life, the caretakers at her new home, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, are recruiting a language teacher via the Internet. Mei Lan has lived at a zoo in Atlanta, Georgia, since her birth in 2006.
"She will be taught Chinese with a Sichuan dialect, because people here all speak Sichuan dialect. She will become familiar with some simple phrases," Cui Kai, a staffer at the panda research center, told The Associated Press. "For example, she will be taught the phrases for going back to the cage or coming out from the dormitory."
Mei Lan will also have to gradually get used to her new Chinese diet.
"We have asked the American zookeepers to bring Mei Lan's favorite biscuits, but we will gradually use Chinese 'wotou' (steamed bread made of corn and sorghum) and fresh bamboo to replace biscuits," Huang Xiangming said.
About 1,600 giant pandas live in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another 290 are in captive-breeding programs worldwide, mainly in China. There are now 13 giant pandas from China in the U.S. at four different zoos.
Share on Facebook
- Posted on February 3, 2010
Animals
Art
Your stories
whoa my this sounds like a cute affair and teaching animals such as pandas comands in differents languages may be difficult.so this may be quite hard for china
This is ridiculous. Bears cannot learn english or chinese. They can't learn any language besides their own. They can only speak bear if that is even a language.
I think its really cool that they r trying 2 teach the panda how 2 teach Chinese but i don't think it will work i mean its really really cute but its animal it doesn't speak any kind of human talk as far as i know. Hes so cute
My friends dog can talk.. When it yawns!! Her name is Baby and once when I was down at my friend Sandra's house she was wrestling with her dad when Baby yawned " Run Sandraaa." It was hilarious but weird. She still yawn-talks sometimes but I thought it was the most amazing thing everr!!
I can`t believe that a panda speaks English but not Chinese!!!! If pandas are from China I would think they would speak Chinese. I think the weird part is that an animal can talk.
This is a story about a panda called Mei Lan comming from the U.S. to China her parents homeland. First, the zoo keepers fed her biscuits but they soon started to feed her bamboo and wotou. I thought that it was amazing that humans could teach a panda how to go into and come out of her cage. Also, the idea of Americans feeding her the biscuits was brilliant because Mei Lan could get used to the Chinese with help of the people she had been with all of her life. Over all I thought this was a very amazing story that just doesn't seem possible but I loved it.
Neil
That is funny that a panda speaks English but not Chinese because if people talked to people that didn't understand it then they would be like what....amazing that pandas can talk.
It's a story about a 3 year old panda named Mei Lan. Mei Lan lives in a zoo in Atlanta but will be moving back to China. But she has always lived in America.I would of never thought of a panda that could talk. I was so amazed that pandas can talk. I wonder if dogs can do that? I wish i had a talking panda.
That is funny that a panda speaks English but not Chinese because if people talked to people that didn't understand it then they would be like what.
I dont uder stand why the pandas cant stay in america because what if somethig happens and the zoo gets destroyed then the pandas cooled get hert or die :[. I also are they actually trying to teach the panda chinese.