ക Zàijiàn 再見 Farewell 'Banana' Panda ~ Tai Shan

Tai Shan 泰山 {Tài Shān}, aka Butterstick because of its size like a stick of butter just after his birth as described by a zoo worker. He 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. The name Tai Shan, meaning "peaceful mountain," was chosen after it won 44 percent of the 202,045 total votes cast.

Tai Shan in June 2007, courtesy of Wikipedia

According to Wikipedia as 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. (His parents Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are technically being "leased" to the National Zoo 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 2009.

Tai Shan on his final full day at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, February 3, 2010.

Since 2007, Tai Shan has lived on his own at the zoo, because cubs leave their mothers at about 2 years of age and fathers play no role in cub rearing. All these years as an ABC "American Born Chinese" Panda he must be quite used to American language than his own ethnic Chinese in National Zoo DC. and hopefully when he returns to China he could catch up fast coping with the language and weather. Prior leaving his birth place in National Zoo before heading towards China view the heartbroken people in Washington DC and their final farewell words posted by fellow blogger, Pacific Islander. Get ready some tissue papers to stand by for a tearjerker.

Tai Shan left D.C. for China on February 4, 2010 (on the same flight as Mei Lan from Zoo Atlanta). His new home is the Bifengxia Panda Base, in Ya'an, Sichuan. If he is a human being would be a very good classic example of a "Bananaz Man", yellow from the outside but speaks and thinks like an American.  Wanna know more about pandas and how it sounds as newborn, 3-month-old and adult click HERE.

52,123,194 hits @ Feb06, 2010 on Sneezing Tai Shan 

However another unofficial version is the Chinese government is worried sick that being alone in DC for far too long Tai Shan may mixed with the wrong company and totally forgotten his roots and becomes too Americanized, that is the reason why he needs to get back to China asap. A picture paints a thousand words..

Photo courtesy of Worth1000.com

Posted in: Bananaz Panda,Tai Shan