Tian Tian (t – YEN t – Yen) is the 3 year old male half of the new pair of
Pandas at
National Zoological Park, part of the
Smithsonian Institution in
Washington D.C.. Characterized by the Smithsonian magazine
1 as more “like a dog” and “upbeat, mellow, happy to see you, always eager.”
The panda couple are on loan, or rather rental from
China at the price of $1,000,000 a year. This money is supposed to fund
conservation projects for panda reserves in China.
The panda pair can be seen on the PandaCam.
2
Tian Tian (which means “more and more”) is the larger of the pair and has kidney bean –shaped black patches around his eyes.
Mei Xiang, (may sh - ONG) at 2 years of age is the smaller of the pair and has circular black patches around her eyes. She is characterized by the
Smithsonian magazine
1as more “like a cat”
who “sometimes expresses interest in you, sometimes not”. Her name, Mei Xiang, means "beautiful fragrance" in Chinese. At least that is the official
zoo say on the matter. Apparently there are some semantic arguments over the pronunciation and the meaning depending upon the pronunciation
2
If any offspring are born from this pair they would belong to China although where they would reside may depend on potential genetic diversity needs of future generations because of their
endangered status.
1}Smithsonian magazine April 2001
2)http://pandas.si.edu/pandacam/index.htm
3)http://www.englishfirst.org/13166/pandatranslation.htm