CHINA:Panda dung paper fans anyone? Or how about a panda poo postcard? Pandas are undeniably cute, a beloved national symbol in China and a great draw for tourists, but no one has thought of their dung as being particularly useful.
That could all be about to change as the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Centre examines ways to make souvenirs made of the black-and-white furry friends' dung.
Pandas spent an inordinate amount of time eating fibre-intensive bamboo shoots. Even though it is the panda's staple diet, the animal has difficulty digesting the bamboo and an adult panda produces about 20kg of dung every day.
The panda's high-fibre diet makes its excretion a perfect raw material for paper products such as fans, notebooks or postcards. The Chengdu centre is one of the leading institutions for artificial breeding for the shy bear but is always looking for ways to increase its income.
Huang Xiangming, from the centre, said transforming the excreted material into something useful could generate new products to lure the tourist yuan.
"Our research centre produces over 200 tons of giant panda dung each year. If we could make good use of it, we could reduce waste and boost our centre's income," said Mr Huang. He was inspired by a similar move at Chiang Mai zoo in Thailand, which sells dung-based mementos.
The souvenirs do not smell, though some of the baubles would have the scent of bamboo, Mr Huang added.