Chriszelda Pieterse, a finalist hoping to become a "pambassador", looks for Zhenzhen, a star panda, during the training program in Chengdu on Thursday. [China Daily]

Only 12 people remain in the quest for one of the world's most unusual jobs -- a "pambassador" at the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding.

The finalists were among almost 62,000 applicants and were selected by netizens and judges to take part in a week of training at the base in Sichuan Province.

During the week, half will be eliminated before the remaining six will be named "pambassadors" on Sept 29.

The finalists, who arrived at the base on Thursday, are from the United States, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Italy, Canada, Australia, South Africa, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, according to Wang Jishan, chief of the department of scientific management at the base.

They are aged from 20 to over 40 and are all animal lovers. Their number includes a journalist, student, accountant and project manager, said Wang, who is in charge of the selection of the "pambassadors".

He said 61,615 people from 52 countries and regions applied for the rare chance to work as a panda keeper for one month as part of the project that seeks to publicize the challenges facing the endangered species.

"Experts at the base will give them lectures on the basic knowledge they need and information about nutrition, health, breeding and the behavior of the giant panda," he said. "The finalists will work with keepers to gain first-hand experience."

They will learn how to make special buns that are fed to the pandas and also prepare bamboo for them, feed them apples and carrots and clean out their enclosures. The 12 will also learn how to weigh the animals' droppings and observe the color and form of the excrement to get an insight into their health, as well as watch the pandas play.

"The 'pambassadors' will also learn how to set up wooden ladders for pandas. Climbing ladders is a favorite pastime of captive pandas and setting up ladders will be part of the competition," Wang said.

At the end of the week of training, the 12 contestants will take part in a final showdown during which they will answer questions, build a panda ladder and give a lecture.

"They will also give a three-minute performance to show their personal charm," Wang said. "For example, they might want to wear a panda costume and pretend to be a panda."

The research base launched Project Panda online in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature seeking panda enthusiasts who will spend a month working as panda keepers in Chengdu and blog about their experiences at pandahome.com in a bid to raise awareness of the endangered animals' plight.

The six will also get the opportunity to witness the birth of panda cubs.

Around 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Southwest China. About 300 others live in captivity worldwide.

(China Daily September 25, 2010)