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Feature: Malaysia's panda lovers get rare chance to be one-day nanny of giant pandas

Xinhua, April 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Vanessa Goh and her college friend Ch'ng Yu Ru spent a memorable day when they volunteered as the "Nannies" of the giant pandas live in Malaysia.

"I really love pandas and I think it will be interesting to see how to take care of them," said Goh, a college student.

The work never meant to be easy. Goh and Ch'ng had to arrive at the national zoo in outskirts Kuala Lumpur early on a weekend morning. In the following eight hours, they need to prepare food for the pandas, clean the exhibition areas and the enclosures.

As the pandas keep a strict pattern for their activities, the volunteers need to rush for their work, such as taking away the left-over bamboos and the panda feces. Fortunately, they could count on the help from the keepers.

"It's tiring," said Ch'ng, "But I have expected it, so it's ok. It's fun to see the poo all over the place."

The two volunteers even managed to discover something new from the seemingly dirty work. "It's actually quite interesting, and fortunately the poos aren't that smelly," said Goh, "We found out that they don't really digest what they eat."

For safety and hygiene reasons, the volunteers were not allowed to get in touch with Xing Xing and Liang Liang, the two giant pandas on loan to Malaysia, as well as their baby Nuan Nuan.

But having a chance for a close look at the giant pandas was already good enough, especially when the 8-month-old baby giant panda came out. "It's so cute! And the way it climbs up is really amazing," said Goh.

Xing Xing and Liang Liang arrived in Malaysia on loan in 2014, marking the 40 anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between China and Malaysia. The birth of their baby last August brought more cheers for the local panda lovers, as the naming competition attracted more than 22,000 suggestions.

Officials at the national zoo said the panda volunteer program, launched earlier this year, have been highly popular.

Goh and Ch'ng said they would definitely recommend the one-day volunteering program to their friends.

"I will tell them it's very interesting," said Goh, "It's interesting to know a lot of new things, like the food they eat. It was a very nice experience." Enditem