Indonesia to Welcome Two Pandas From China in September
Jakarta. One of the country's best known wildlife parks, Taman Safari Indonesia, will be welcoming a pair of giant pandas from China in September, as part of a bilateral agreement.
Taman Safari Indonesia director Frans Manansang said the park is in the final stages of preparation to receive the pandas, with their enclosure already having been prepared.
"The panda area will take up three floors, as approved by Chinese officials. They even said this is the prettiest [enclosure] in the world," Frans said in Cisarua, Bogor district, West Java, on Monday (08/08).
The pair of black-and-white Chinese panda bears are expected to receive excellent care, as their enclosure is equipped with medical and operating rooms. The wildlife park has also stocked up on bamboo, the animals' main source of food.
China gifts pandas to other governments as a diplomatic gesture, based on Chinese tradition, which is taken very seriously. Before pandas are handed over, a memorandum of understanding is signed and the recipient country's zookeepers are sent to China for training.
"Our officers will be sent for training and an officer from China will come here to check on the preparations. It's a long procedure because we need to ensure that the pandas are kept alive for at least the next 10 years," Frans said.
In terms of the agreement, Indonesia will serve as a home for the two pandas, named Feyun and Nyinhu, for the next 10 years, in exchange for a specimen of Indonesia's trademark giant monitor lizard, the Komodo dragon.
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