Describe your favourite animal.

You should say:

What the animal is

How you know about it

What special features it has

And explain why you like such an animal so much.

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Ok, well I think my favourite animal has to be the Panda. Many people have seen pictures of the panda, and some have seen the panda in zoos. But I've had the pleasure of seeing pandas at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu, which is a research station where about 10-12 pandas live. The base is quite large, so you can see them live naturally, and in much better conditions than at a zoo. At this place you are guaranteed to see pandas during their feeding times. I managed to watch them feeding and the thing that astonishes you is just how much they can eat. The thing that also strikes you about the panda is the "teddy bear look" that they have, and the way that they look at you makes you feel they are begging for you to take them home as a pet. You know, not a single person isn't channed by the panda, especially when they look like they are reasonably happy.

I think the reason it is my favourite animal is because no animal better represents both the beauty and struggle of wildlife in China than the panda. The panda is, of course, an endangered species, because it is so fussy about its breeding, and so every panda alive today is special-like an emperor. I hope that the panda population will one day thrive again, but I think it is going to mean more of this kind of research station and I'll be happy if all the pandas in the zoos around the world can be transferred into these more humane conditions at research stations.