WHERE IS THE PANDA?

Yes, where is the panda living today? Well it´s living in my living room right now! Well directly imported from Beijing in China! Just view my photos in this blog! They are a permanent proof of my devotion for the panda´s future life. Six Panda Ambassadors, also called Pambassadors, have been chosen in a worldwide competition and the winners will be working for one year at the famous Woolong Giant Panda Protection And Research Center in Chengdu in China. The "Pambassadors" are expected to work closely with Woolong Keepers, feeding baby pandas, learning about panda conservation and - I'm assuming - hugging them (glee)! Or as the competition says, "You will perform as photographer, videographer, journalist, scientist, and researcher in the course of one of the best months of your life!" Successful candidates had to be aged 18 to 40 and be in good physical and psychological condition, as well as possess English writing abilities. Also, they couldn't be "affected by any medical/chemical substance," so no smokin' doobies around the Pandas, guys. Judges last month whittled more than 60,000 entrants from 52 countries and regions down to just six - Huang Xi from the Chinese mainland, Wang Yu-wen from Taiwan, Yumiko Kajiwara of Japan, Ashley Robertson of the United States, David Algranti of France and Ali Shakorian of Sweden. Yes, you did read right, actually one of the six comes from Sweden! My country! What a lucky guy! Some facts down below:

The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning "black and white cat-foot") is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Other parts of its diet include honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, and bananas when available. The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Due to farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived. This picture I love, because the panda is in it´s real chinese invironment trying to eat it´s main meal bamboo. You know I love to eat bamboo shots in my food, but in China you eat also woked bambu shots with a different kind of taste. I have tried it on a wedding in Beijing last year. This was the fourth of october 2009 at the Jinglun Hotel in Beijing´s CBD, 3 Jianguo Menwai Da Jie. This is a for star hotel. The latest fashion in Beijing is to invite westerners to your wedding or party, but this one was different. We were two westerners there, but somehow closely related to the couple who got married. Imagine the feeling of getting married at a four star hotel with two westerners at your wedding as your specially invited friends attending. That could break the heart of any Beijing millionaire, that would have to pay for that! Friends and love go well together! So I´m very honored to have been invited by the bride´s family. Now back to the panda and it´s life and surival future.
.

The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise. However, the IUCN does not believe there is enough certainty yet to reclassify the species from Endangered to Vulnerable. While the dragon(I´m a dragon as I was born in the year of the dragon) has historically served as China's national emblem, in recent decades the panda has also served as an emblem for the country. Its image appears on a large number of modern Chinese commemorative silver, gold, and platinum coins. Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than predation. Now this ends todays blog from me.

Love Peter