Red panda makes aliyah
Rare animal came from Singapore two months ago, traded for two giraffes and about NIS 50,000
The eight kilogram (about 19 pounds) bear was born in China, but was transferred to Israel form a Singapore zoo in exchange for two giraffes.
The exchange was funded by the Friends of the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens, at a cost of some NIS 50,000 (about USD 11,100).
Rare find
The red Israeli panda is among a few of its kind in the world.
“Zoos around the world have an integral part in preserving panda bears," Biblical Zoo Director Shai Doron said.
“Almost all of the world’s zoos are partaking in the global project in India aimed at trying to bring the pandas back to the Himalaya Mountains, where they became extinct.”
The zoo is now looking for a mate for the panda, but the bear does not seem lonely, as pandas are individualistic in nature and prefer to spend most of their time in solitude.
“Due to its small size, some zoologists claim the animal belongs to the raccoon rather than to the bear family,” Shmulik Yidov, the zoo’s zoological director, said.
Local hero
If a local basketball team has its way, the panda will soon represent more than one of the world's most endangered species.
The Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team announced Monday it would try to adopt the panda as its mascot, and would like to change the bear’s current name, Simon, to a more ‘sporty’ name.
