A patch of luxuriant bamboo shoots in the suburb of Shanghai recently became the "rice bowl" for two pandas in Shanghai Zoo.
Liu Xiugang, a local farmer who rented the bamboo garden, has started to provide fresh bamboo leaves daily to the 20-year-old "Chuan Chuan" and its two-year-old son Le Le, according to his contract with the zoo.
Although he was required to do extra jobs on the garden, he did not seem to mind, saying "I like pandas very much."
Ever since the zoo started to raise pandas in 1975, millions of tourists arrive every year to admire "the treasure of China".
However, the rice bowl can be problematic, as pandas are choosy and have extraordinarily huge appetites, devouring up to 50 kilograms of bamboo shoots everyday.
When Le Le was born two years ago, the zoo keeper was worried about the amount of food available.
According to zoologists, panda's alimentary canal has retrograded so severely that they eat nothing but bamboo shoots.
With the news spreading, the zoo keepers found themselves receiving various calls from people in various places eager to offer help.
A farmer living by the neighboring province, for instance, made three trips to Shanghai bringing along seven kinds of bamboo shoots for the pandas.
A lady in Shanghai carried on her back a packet of bamboo shoots grown in her garden.
The "rice bowl" problem even evoked sympathy from an American actor who once performed in Shanghai. Upon returning home, he donated 120 US dollars to the zoo.
Thanks to such efforts, the father and son are living happily.
Chuan Chuan, whose age is equivalent to 60 human years, is waiting for the birth of another baby. His mate, who lives thousands of kilometers away in China's Chongqing, is pregnant.
As to Le Le, he is growing very fast and taking in as much food as his father.
Much to people's amusement, Le Le, except when asleep, holds a bamboo shoot in his hand at all times.
(People’s Daily 10/07/2000)
