A file photo of Linping with her mother. Hundreds of fans gathered at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand for the birthday of Linping. |
Riot-stricken Thailand had something to smile about on Thursday as the nation's only panda cub, who enjoys a cult-like following across the kingdom, celebrated her first birthday in style. Hundreds of fans gathered at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand for the birthday of Linping, whose birth surprised zookeepers after years of unsuccessful artificial insemination and efforts to get her parents to mate. A monk's blessing, a panda birthday cake and an ice carving of her name and age were among the gifts for the 36-kilo (79-pound) cub, who has five keepers devoted to her care, before an evening celebration for guests. Linping has become so popular in her first year that Thai television has a live 24-hour "Panda Channel" following her every move, while a competition to name her last year attracted a staggering 22 million entries. Lin is part of her mother's name and Ping is a river in Chiang Mai. "It is very special that people join us today," said Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee, head of the panda research project at the zoo. Linping was born to eight-year-old giant panda Lin Hui just three months after receiving semen from nine-year-old partner Chuang Chuang. The mates had shown no interest in reproducing normally since they both arrived on a 10-year loan from China in 2003. Linping officially belongs to China but can stay in Thailand for another year. In 2006, Chuang Chuang, who had been deemed too heavy to mate with Lin Hui, lost weight on a low-carbohydrate diet and was then shown 15-minute video clips of successful panda couplings, but to no avail. Giant pandas, notorious for their low sex drive, are among the planet's most endangered animals. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
近來(lái)受暴亂重創(chuàng)的泰國(guó)在本周四終于有了件讓人高興的事,該國(guó)唯一一只深受民眾喜愛(ài)的大熊貓幼崽隆重慶祝了它的周歲生日。 當(dāng)天,數(shù)百名粉絲聚集在泰國(guó)北部的清邁動(dòng)物園為林萍慶生。去年林萍的降生給當(dāng)?shù)貏?dòng)物園帶來(lái)了極大驚喜,此前動(dòng)物園多年來(lái)一直努力對(duì)它的母親進(jìn)行人工受孕均未成功,并想盡各種辦法促進(jìn)它的父母交配。 當(dāng)天林萍收到的生日禮物包括一位僧人的賜福、一個(gè)熊貓生日蛋糕和一個(gè)刻有她名字和年齡的冰雕。這只剛滿周歲的熊貓崽體重達(dá)36公斤(79磅),擁有五名飼養(yǎng)員。當(dāng)天晚間,來(lái)客們?yōu)樗e行了慶?;顒?dòng)。 林萍在泰國(guó)降生以來(lái)深受歡迎,泰國(guó)電視臺(tái)特設(shè)24小時(shí)直播的“熊貓頻道”,跟蹤拍攝她的一舉一動(dòng)。去年的一個(gè)為它取名的公眾征集活動(dòng)共收到2200萬(wàn)個(gè)創(chuàng)意。 其中,“林”取自她母親的名字,“萍”則取自清邁一條河流的名字。 清邁動(dòng)物園熊貓研究項(xiàng)目負(fù)責(zé)人Prasertsak Buntragulpoontawee說(shuō):“今天大家與我們一起為它慶生,非常特別。” 林萍的媽媽名叫林惠,今年9歲,爸爸叫創(chuàng)創(chuàng),今年10歲。去年,林惠在接受人工授精手術(shù)三個(gè)月后,產(chǎn)下了林萍。 這對(duì)大熊貓夫婦于2003年來(lái)到泰國(guó)后,性欲一直不強(qiáng)。這對(duì)熊貓由中國(guó)租借給泰國(guó),期限為十年,幼崽林萍?xì)w中國(guó)所有,但它可以在泰國(guó)繼續(xù)呆一年。 2006年,因體重過(guò)大而無(wú)法正常交配的創(chuàng)創(chuàng)開(kāi)始食用低碳水化合物減肥。當(dāng)時(shí)動(dòng)物園還專(zhuān)門(mén)讓它觀看了一段15分鐘的熊貓成功交配的視頻片斷,但沒(méi)有起到作用。 大熊貓一直以“性冷淡”而著稱(chēng),目前是地球?yàn)l危物種之一。 相關(guān)閱讀 Public invited to name panda cub Pandas meet the public before going to Beijing (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍) |
Vocabulary: cub:the young of certain animals, as the bear, lion, or tiger(幼獸、幼崽) in style:in the current fashion or style(隆重地,成功地,別具風(fēng)格地) artificial insemination:人工授精 reproduce:to generate (offspring) by sexual or asexual means(生育,繁殖) to no avail:of no use or advantage, ineffective(完全無(wú)用) |