Beijing, China (AHN) -- In a bid to make use of nearly two tons of fibrous panda poop that animals drop each day, researchers at China's Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base in central-western Sichuan province are seeking to join hands with area paper mills. The catch: processing of the excrements of the grisly mammals into valuable office quality paper.

According to Liao Jun, a researcher at the panda reserve, the idea of turning panda poop into paper came from Thailand where conversion of elephant dung into a variety of products such as artificial flowers, gift boxes and photo frames, is hugely popular.

"We are not interested in doing this for the profits but to recycle the waste," Liao told the Associated Press. "It's environmentally friendly. We can use the paper ourselves and also we can sell whatever is left over."

There are 40 pandas at the reserve.

It is not for the first time that an innovative use of the panda poop has been sought. In 2003, a Japanese researcher Fumiaki Taguchi of the Kitasato University in Tokyo theorized that because the Panda diet relies heavily on bamboo, their stomach bacteria must be something special. His hypothesis that those bacteria extracted from animal's poop could be used as a natural energy alternative has spawned a program of industrial research.

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