Mei Lan has been announced as an Earth Hour Global Ambassador.
Former Zoo Atlanta panda princess Mei Lan has been in China barely a week and has already been appointed a “global ambassador” for Earth Hour 2010, a four-year-old event led by the World Wildlife Fund to fight climate change. The organization says global warming is one of the greatest threats facing wildlife and nature.
Mei Lan’s new hometown, Chengdu, was the first city in China to commit its support to the March 27 event. At 8:30 p.m. local time, people around the world will turn off their lights for one hour to symbolically demand action on climate change. Last year in the U.S., 80 million Americans, 318 cities and eight states officially turned off their lights for Earth Hour, including Atlanta. The Pyramids in Egypt and even the Las Vegas strip went dark.
Mei Lan joins Desmond Tutu, Cold Play and Cate Blanchett in becoming an Earth Hour ambassador. Fans will be able to follow her ambassador role at www.twitter.com/earthhour. The recognized symbol of WWF, giant pandas have lived in Chengdu for more than 8 million years.
Meanwhile, Mei Lan is dealing with more prosaic concerns as she continues to adjust to her new home at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. On Thursday, Zoo Atlanta reported that Mei Lan spent more time resting. She is drinking regularly and eating bamboo, but not as much bamboo as she did at Zoo Atlanta. Giant pandas can be very finicky about their bamboo, and the type of bamboo near the Chengdu Research Base is different from the species that was available in Atlanta, the zoo said.
Zoo officials expect it will take her about a month to get used to the new bamboo. So far, her new keeper has offered Mei Lan at least five different species of bamboo. “Mei Lan liked one of these better than the others, but so far she doesn’t have a clear favorite,” the zoo said.
Mei Lan’s Atlanta keeper, Heather Roberts, has decided to stay a little longer to help Mei Lan continue to adjust to her new home. We hope she’s ready to tackle global warming.
4 comments ↓
I don’t know what a Global Ambassador of Earth Hour does but I do know that Mei Lan is having trouble adjusting to her new life in China.
Between now and March 27, she will have to at least endure the loss of her good friend (and guardian angel) Heather when she leaves China, a new environment (and probably a new keeper) when she’s moved from quarantine, being put on display for the public after a month of being sequestered and being introduced to eight male pandas from whom she’s supposed to choose a mate (she hasn’t been in the company of another pandas since her weaning from her mother in March 2007).
I understand why Chengdu and WWF and Earth Hour would pick a panda as an ambassador, but choose another one. Not Mei Lan! Leave her alone to adjust quietly and slowly into her destiny.
If you agree with me, please contact the WWF and Earth Hour and advocate for Mei Lan.
Hi!
I just noticed a typo in the comment I submitted.
Mei Lan was weaned from her mother when she was 18 months old which would be March 2008, not March 2007.
I hear you Bobby. I’m curious what the folks at Zoo Atlanta think. Have you been reading their updates? It does seem that Mei Lan is being well cared for by her new keeper.
–Daphne
Hi!
Yes–I have been reading the updates from the Zoo and scouring the Internet daily for updates on Lani. Here is a link to the latest. It’s a video posted on CCTV–the Chinese TV station:
http://english.cctv.com/program/chinatoday/20100212/101701.shtml
I watched Lani on the pandacam just about every day since her birth and recorded footage which I posted daily on the forum that I belong to. I’m slowly transferring the videos to my YouTube Channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/NautiGirl
And I’m lighting candles for Lani here:
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=ScHo
I never saw Lani “in person” and I can’t imagine what it must feel like for those that visited her at the zoo.
I’m very grateful and thankful that Heather is staying with Mei Lan longer than planned. Heather deserves a hero’s welcome when she returns to Atlanta!!
Keep Lani in your thoughts and prayers!!
Leave a Comment