Panda recruits language teacher 

Zookeepers at the Chengdu Panda Centre in the Sichuan province are advertising for a tutor to teach Chinese to an American-born giant panda arriving this week.

There is concern that three-year old Mei Lan has only ever heard English, as she was born in Atlanta and has lived there her whole life.

LAtimes.com says that the caretakers in her new home are recruiting a language teacher to teach Mei Lan basic phrases, via the internet.

Mei Lan has also been put on a special diet to wean her off American biscuits.

"We have asked the American zookeepers to bring Mei Lan's favourite biscuits, but we will gradually use Chinese 'wotou' (steamed bread made of corn and sorghum) and fresh bamboo to replace biscuits," Huang Xiangming, director of the centre's animal management department, told LAtimes.com.

Panda fans are also being asked to help choose a boyfriend for Mei Lan.

Eight potential candidates have been introduced on a web page set up for Mei Lan. It includes videos of the prospective suitors in action. Voters are then asked to choose the most compatible mate, though experts will have final say on the best mate.

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