Star panda leaves China for 'marriage'

Star panda leaves China for 'marriage'

BEIJING: A male giant panda that starred in a popular television documentary has left southwestern China for a "marriage" to a female panda at San Diego Zoo, state media said on Wednesday.

Eleven-year-old "Gaogao" (Lofty) left the Wolong panda research center in Sichuan province for a six-year cohabitation with "Baiyun" (White Cloud) in the U.S. city, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Gaogao became popular in China after he starred in a documentary about the Wolong center, the agency said.

Several trunks of bamboo and other food ensured the panda had a comfortable flight, and a researcher from the center traveled to San Diego to help Gaogao adapt to his new life, it said.

But if Gaogao fails to perform in San Diego he could suffer the same fate as Baiyun's previous mate, "Shishi".

Shishi, 26, arrived at the zoo on a 12-year deal with Baiyun six years ago. He produced one cub in 1999 but he was sent home to China because he became senile and infertile, the agency said.

Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species. Around 1,000 remain in the wild, most of them in the bamboo forests of southwestern China. -- DPA