SA features in global panda project
2010-09-09 14:47
Petro-Anne Morkel, News24
Cape Town – A South African has been shortlisted for an international competition which will see her travel to China to look after pandas for a month and even witness a panda birth.
Chriszelda Pieterse, a 27-year-old tax consultant from Pretoria, is the only person from the African continent who has been placed on a list of potential candidates in Project Panda.
The Chengdu Panda Base, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, has embarked on a international search for six people who will spend a month caring for pandas as part of a conservation campaign.
Pieterse, who has always been “crazy” about pandas, is currently on a list of 60 candidates. This list will be shorten to 12 and then later six. The 12 candidates will be determined by online votes from the public and four panda experts.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Pieterse. “I never thought I would get an opportunity like this. It has always been my dream just to see a panda, but to be able to study them in the wild and witness a birth, I never thought it possible.”
Pieterse believes her love for pandas began when she about eight years old and her grandmother gave her a giant stuffed panda as a present. “From that day I have been obsessed with them.”
Fragile existence
Despite her love for the black and white animal, she thinks more people should be concerned about the fragile existence of all endangered species.
“Every animal is significant, be it a tiger, a panda or a rat. Personally I think we should all try to keep something for the next generation. For example, I would have loved to see a dodo, but it’s something that is no longer here.
“Working in the corporate world you sometimes wonder: ‘What have you done for the world today?’ If I make the cut, then I will be able to say that I have done something amazing that actually counts for something.”
Even though she faces tough competition from the other 59 contestants, Pieterse said she is hopeful as she is the only contestant from Africa who has made the list.
According to the project’s website, the six winners will be able to study the endangered animal’s behaviour in a hands-on manner and even observe the birth of a baby panda and their development.
The final six are then expected to campaign for panda conservation for a year in order to raise awareness.
To visit Project Panda's website, click here.
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