10 The 1600 Pandas World Tour, Dataran Merdeka

These adorable paper mache pandas caused much excitement at Dataran Merdeka on Sunday. It was an event for selfies, wefies and ...just taking photographs.

1600 Panda World Tour

Well, that's not the reason why they were flown in. They're here to pass on a message to you and me about conserving the environment.

Merry Christmas, y'all

In 2008, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) worked with renowned French sculptor Paulo Grangeon to launch the 1600 panda campaign. 1,600 pandas were made out of recycled paper. Why 1,600? It was estimated that there were only 1,600 pandas left in the wild at the time.

This campaign was organised to raise awareness of the endangered species, and to highlight the importance of preserving the environment. Proceeds from the 1600 Pandas MY event will be used to support local conservation initiatives.

Wait..this is all that's left of us?

There was, at first, childlike joy and wonder at seeing so many cute little panda statues being displayed. But once it sinks in that this is all that's left of them, there is sadness and a realisation that if we do not do something about it, then they, the pandas, and many other animals will go extinct.

Please take care of the environment because it is our home!

The 1600 Pandas event was published in a number of news and media portals today. The hype was amazing. Many stated that there were 1600 pandas on display at the launch and one local paper said thousands had made their way into our country. All I saw was something in the range of a couple of hundreds, maybe less. Mmm..where were they hiding..  

At the launch of 1600 Pandas World Tour in Malaysia

The good news? They'll be touring Malaysia for a month. I'll be making my way to see the pandas again and this time, I'll keep my eyes peeled for 1,600!

1600 Pandas at Dataran Merdeka

The details of the tour can be found on this Facebook page, in case you're keen to pay the pandas a visit : 1600 Pandas MY (https://www.facebook.com/1600PandasMY)