Giant Pandas capable of reviving Zoo Negara's golden era

The presence of the two giant pandas in Malaysia is expected to revive the golden era of Zoo Negara after suffering a decline in the number of visitors over the past six years.

Zoological Society of Malaysia president, Datuk Zaharin Md Arif said the public were now seen to have showed more interests to visit Zoo Negara since the arrival of the pandas from China.

"Since 2008, the arrival of local visitors to the zoo had declined between 30,000 and 40,000 from the average of 740,000 visitors each year.

"However, local visitors have started to flock the zoo, including to watch the construction of the Giant Panda Conservation Centre and it is hoped that the trend will continue when the centre is officially open on June 28."

He said this to Bernama at the opening of the centre and the launch of the 50th anniversary of the zoo by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak here yesterday.

Zaharin said the two giant pandas were getting more comfortable at their new home and were seen to have gained more weight since they arrived in Malaysia on May 21.

He also said that the ticket price to watch the pandas were RM20 for adults and RM10 for children.

At the opening ceremony, Najib also announced the local names for the pandas – Xing Xing and Liang Liang.

The names were selected based on the Giant Pandas Naming Competition organised by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in 2012.

Meanwhile, a teacher, Soon Choon Yen, 54, who came out with the name Liang Liang, which means 'pretty', for the female panda, said she had always loved the big white panda with the black ring in the eyes.

"The word pretty is always in my mind whenever I see a panda. Interestingly, Liang Liang also sounds like 'riang' (jolly) in Malay language and I think it is the most appropriate name for it," said the girl from Sungai Petani Kedah.

Meanwhile, the name Xing Xing was proposed by student Chia Chee Nee, 22, from Sandakan, who could not attend the ceremony as he was pursuing studies in the United Kingdom.

Their creative ideas in naming the two pandas had enabled them to emerge as the winners of the contest and took home a Proton Preve each.