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Tai Shan (panda)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tai Shan in June 2007
Tai Shan (Chinese: 泰山; pinyin: Tài Shān, IPA:[tʰaɪˈʂan], popularly referred to as Butterstick) is a giant panda born at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (National Zoo) in Washington, D.C on July 9, 2005 at 3:41 AM.[1] He is the first panda cub born at the National Zoo to survive for more than a few days and is only the third to survive in the United States. A fourth panda, a female cub named Su Lin, was born at the San Diego Zoo on August 2, 2005, and a fifth panda named Mei Lan was born at Zoo Atlanta on September 6, 2006.
Lineage Tai Shan (7 months old in picture) with his mother Mei Xiang on Feb. 16, 2006 Tai Shan is the first cub born to Mei Xiang (IPA:[meiˈɕiɑŋ]) and Tian Tian (IPA:[tʰiɛn tʰiɛn]), the National Zoo's second pair of giant pandas. (The first pair, Ling-Ling (female) and Hsing-Hsing (male), were donated to the National Zoo by China in 1972, shortly after Richard Nixon's historic visit. Ling-Ling died in 1992 and Hsing-Hsing in 1999 without producing any cubs that survived for more than a few days.) Both of Tai Shan's parents were born at the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province. Mei Xiang, his mother, was artificially inseminated in March 2005 with sperm from Tian Tian after natural mating between the pair appeared unsuccessful. Per the agreement with China, the Chinese government can require that Tai Shan be sent to China any time after he turns 2 as he, like his parents, is the property of China (Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are technically being "leased" to the United States by the Chinese government in a ten-year, $10 million agreement, with the money to go to panda conservation research in China). The National Zoo announced in April 2007 that it reached an agreement with the Chinese government to let Tai Shan remain at the National Zoo until at least July of 2009.
NamingFollowing a Chinese tradition, panda cubs are not named until they are 100 days old. Before he got a name, the cub was popularly referred to as Butterstick because immediately after his birth, a zoo worker described him as about the size of a stick of butter. The name caught on with bloggers, and became quite popular.[2] In fall 2005, the National Zoo announced that the cub's name would be chosen through an Internet poll. There were five names included on the poll; all were traditional Chinese names approved by the China Wildlife Conservation Association. "Butterstick" was not included as an option. Some bloggers protested this decision; there was even an attempt to hack the poll,[3][4] allowing voters the option of selecting the name Butterstick. Despite these efforts, the name Tai Shan, meaning "peaceful mountain," was eventually chosen, as it had won 44 percent of the 202,045 total votes cast. [5] The name "Butterstick," however, remains a popular nickname for the panda around D.C. and on many websites.
Media darling Tai Shan in his favorite tree in June of 2006  Tai Shan and mother in February 2006 Tai Shan made his public debut on December 8, 2005, after the National Zoo issued 13,000 free timed entry tickets. These tickets were gone within 2 hours, and some were quickly offered for sale on eBay and craigslist, with an asking price as high as $500 apiece. Tickets are no longer required to view Tai Shan. The cub has also become widely popular;[6] he is frequently mentioned on D.C.-oriented websites, such as DCist, FreeButterstick.org, and Wonkette, as well as traditional media outlets, including National Public Radio, The Washingtonian, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times. Fans have set up sites selling cub-related merchandise, including one partnered with cafepress.com that donated approximately $1,900 in profits to the National Zoo. Furthermore, Tai Shan is the star of his own web cam,[7], which has been visited by more than 7 million viewers around the world. The panda cub is featured in an Animal Planet documentary titled A Panda Is Born, which follows the National Zoo's giant panda breeding efforts and Tai Shan's birth. A few months after Tai Shan's first birthday, Animal Planet premiered a documentary titled Baby Panda's First Year, which followed him during his first 12 months at the National Zoo. Many visitors have shared their pictures of Tai Shan at websites like flickr. His development and daily adventure are closely followed and adored by fans from all over the world.
Tai Shan turns oneAt the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., Tai Shan and thousands of fans celebrated his first birthday on July 9, 2006. As early as 7 a.m., National Zoo visitors started to line up outside the panda exhibit, with the opening three hours away. One of his gifts was a giant custom-made fruitsicle with the number one on top of another layer of a refreshing treat.[2] Members of the media fought to catch the perfect pose of Tai Shan and his icy treat. Another one of his attention-grabbing gifts was a mini pool with a volleyball in it sponsored by Fujifilm. Extended StayAccording to a panda loan agreement with China, any cub born would be returned to China sometime after its second birthday. However, due to Tai Shan's popularity, in April 2007 Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong presented Tai Shan a "passport" with an extended stay period to July 2009, without extra charge.[8]
References
External linksThis article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tai Shan (panda).") |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 27 October 2007 ) | ||
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