Tue Dec 1, 2009A predicted $600 million-plus tourism boom from Adelaide Zoo's new giant pandas will see no marketing opportunity go to waste, including capitalising on Wang Wang and Funi's waste.
They say in life you only get out what you put in and in the case of giant pandas, that is almost literally true.
Adelaide Zoo CEO Chris West explains.
"That's right. Panda poo rather looks like strained chopped bamboo," he said.
"It's very undigested."
Panda passings are low in nutrients but high in micro-organisms.
Television gardening expert Malcolm Campbell thinks it is a great product.
"Dig it in and the micro-organisms start to work on locked up nutrients in your soil. Great benefit," he said.
Adelaide Zoo has long marketed other animals' droppings and will now add them to those from the giant pandas to boost the nutritional value.
There are other ways to turn the dung into treasure too.
Poo statues
In Thailand, panda poo is used to produce paper.
In Chengdu in China, where Wang Wang and Funi were from, they even turn the droppings into statues.
And they are not as 'on the nose' as might be expected.
"The oils in the bamboo are released and if you crumble up a fresh piece of panda poo I think it's quite a sweet smell," Mr West said.
The marketing opportunities pandas provide are nothing to sneeze at.
The Zoo has the copyright on the names Wang Wang and Funi and cartoon images of the pandas.
Proceeds from official merchandise will go towards conservation efforts.
Adelaide already has a broad range of official products available but has some way to go to match overseas zoos, which market everything from panda-branded food and drink to cigarettes.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/01/2758068.htm
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