Male panda goes to Chine for breeding

Four-year-old male panda Mei Sheng who was born in the San Diego Zoo is going to China to take part in breeding program.

Photo: Male panda goes to Chine for breeding

Mei Sheng, which translates as "Born in the USA," was sent to the Wolong Nature Reserve for Giant Pandas on Monday as part of a loan agreement which requires all pandas born outside China to be returned there after the animals mature, zoo officials said.

"Mei Sheng will be missed ... but his role in the conservation of his species involves a move to China," Ron Swaisgood of the zoo's Giant Panda Conservation Unit told the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper.

"As a critically endangered species, it is vital that Mei Sheng is in a place where he will be around other pandas, and the Wolong Nature Reserve is a great home," Swaisgood said.

Only about 1,600 giant pandas remain in the wild, and fewer than 180 live in captivity.

Mei Sheng was the second giant panda born in the U.S. to be sent to China . Hua Mei, born at the San Diego Zoo in 1999, was also sent to the Wolong Nature Reserve. She has since given birth to three cubs in China .