Mainland to start picking pandas as gift for Macao
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The Chinese mainland has set up a panel of nine experts to pick a pair of pandas as gift for Macao.
The panel will draw up standards for the panda selection in terms of age, physical condition, behavior and psychology, appearance and genetic factors, according to a meeting held Thursday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, hometown of the endangered species.
The experts will select a pair of pandas that are healthy and lovely and meet the technical standards, according to the meeting.
The pair of pandas to be sent to Macao will be picked among those raised in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base.
It is not known when they will be sent to Macao.
The Chinese central government decided to send a pair of pandas to Macao on December 19 last year, in a move to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
Giant pandas, known for being sexually inactive, are among the world's most endangered animals.
About 1,600 giant pandas live in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Another 290 are in captive-breeding programs worldwide, mainly in China.
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