Friday, April 25, 2025
11:10 AM
Doha,Qatar
panda

Belgium's first baby panda named 'Treasure of Heaven'

A Belgian zoo on Thursday finally named a baby giant panda three months after its birth, calling it "Tian Bao", which means "Treasure of Heaven" in Chinese.
The name was chosen by the panda's keepers at Pairi Daiza wildlife park outside Brussels after an online survey online, in which Tian Bao received the most public votes.
The cub's mother, Hao Hao, and her mate Xing Hui were loaned to Belgium from China for 15 years in February 2014 to mark Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the kingdom.
There are about 1,800 freely roaming pandas left in the world, with about 400 in captivity, mainly in southwest China. The species has a notoriously low birthrate.
The name Tian Bao received 40% of the vote in the online survey, beating Xing Hao ("Good Star"), Ou Xing ("Star of Europe"), Hua Li ("China and Belgium") and An Tuan ("United Peace").
Previously, the baby panda was just referred to as "Baby P".
Chinese ambassador to Belgium Qu Xing and Belgian Environment Minister Marie-Christine Marghem both attended the official naming ceremony, which falls on the same day as the Chinese mid-autumn festival.
A plaque was unveiled bearing the cub's new name in both Chinese and Latin characters -- while the animal was also named an honorary citizen of the town of Brugelette, 50 kilometres, where the zoo is located.
The panda cub was born on June 2 to much fanfare, after Hao Hao was artificially inseminated twice in February with the sperm of Xing Hui.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature on September 4 upgraded the giant panda's status from "endangered" to "vulnerable", following decades of conservation work in China.

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details