A baby panda born at the Vienna zoo in August was baptized Monday as "Fu Hu", which means Happy Tiger in Mandarin, with his human godfather at his side, Austria's economy minister. Besides Reinhold Mitterlehner, China's ambassador to Vienna, Shi Mingde also attended the official naming ceremony.
In Chinese tradition, Giant Pandas are not officially named before they are 100 days old, because the mortality rate in the first year is so high, at about 40%, according to the zoo.
The name "Fu Hu" was chosen in a vote on the Internet that drew 25,000 participants. The little panda's name is close to that of his big brother Fu Long (Happy Dragon), who in 2007 was the first panda to be conceived naturally in captivity in Europe. Fu Long, now three, has since been returned to China and now lives at the Bifengxia panda reserve in Sichuan province.
Pandas, even when conceived abroad, are the property of the Republic of China and only loaned to foreign zoos.
Mother Yang Yang and father Long Hui are also due to leave Schoenbrunn Zoo, the oldest in the world, in 2013.
In Chinese tradition, Giant Pandas are not officially named before they are 100 days old, because the mortality rate in the first year is so high, at about 40%, according to the zoo.
The name "Fu Hu" was chosen in a vote on the Internet that drew 25,000 participants. The little panda's name is close to that of his big brother Fu Long (Happy Dragon), who in 2007 was the first panda to be conceived naturally in captivity in Europe. Fu Long, now three, has since been returned to China and now lives at the Bifengxia panda reserve in Sichuan province.
Pandas, even when conceived abroad, are the property of the Republic of China and only loaned to foreign zoos.
Mother Yang Yang and father Long Hui are also due to leave Schoenbrunn Zoo, the oldest in the world, in 2013.
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