DutchNews, January 12, 2017
Photo: Depositphotos.com
|
Chinese zoo
inspectors have approved the new panda compound at Ouwehands Dierenpark in
Rhenen, NOS writes.
The zoo, which is hoping to welcome a pair of giant panda’s
from China in the spring, spent €7m on the compound which was reportedly judged
by the Chinese as one of the most beautiful they had seen so far. An earlier version
did not pass muster but was improved to meet the exacting standards of the
Chinese zoo authorities.
‘It’s an incredibly beautiful, traditionally Chinese
building. We really went all out on it,’ zoo director Robin de Lange told the
broadcaster.
Ouwehands Dierenpark had been trying to persuade the Chinese to
lend them a pair of pandas for 15 years. A royal state visit to China in 2015
speeded up matters. The zoo is hoping that Wu Wen (Beautiful Powerful Cloud)
and Xing Ya (Elegant Star) will be feeling sufficiently at home to produce
offspring.
The cost of the new compound plus the €900,000 a year fee means that
entrance tickets will be more expensive: visitors will be paying a so-called
‘panda tax’, NOS said.
No comments:
Post a Comment