The fate of the giant panda that died last week, Quan Quan, has not been decided yet, Jinan Zoo said Wednesday.
Quan Quan's death and what will happen to her now have attracted a lot of attention. Usually when pandas die, their bodies are either stuffed for display or used for research.
According to Liang Jundang, general manager of Xixiakou Tour Company, Quan Quan and another panda, Tao Tao, belong to Wolong National Nature Reserve, but the tour company borrowed them. Based on their agreement, the company will return the pandas' bodies to the nature reserve after death.
Tao Tao died in 2008 at the age of 36, and was made into a display in Jinan. Liang said, "We must apply for permission to make the panda’s remains into a display, but not all applications will be approved."
He Xiao'an, director of publicity in the Wolong National Nature Reserve Administration, said that a captive panda that died during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 was been buried in Wolong. In his opinion, that was the best way to handle the situation following the earthquake.