Thousands Want To Help Name Baby Panda

More than 20,000 panda lovers have responded to a call from the Shanghai zoo to suggest names for its newest addition, a 10-month-old female panda nicknamed Maomao.

Letters have come from across the country and from overseas.

Tsugiko Kawano of Japan suggested An-an. The word “an” in Chinese means “peace,” and the name expresses Kawano’s hope for world peace, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

“We started the campaign not only to find a good name for the panda but also to enhance awareness … of environmental and rare animal protection,” said zoo director Shi Xinquan.

The giant panda is native only to China.

About 1,000 pandas survive in the wild, and only about 10 panda cubs are born in captivity annually.