A celebrity pig that survived for 36 days buried beneath rubble after an earthquake in southwest China has been named the nation's animal of the year, state press reported.
The pig won the award in an online vote after his ordeal earned him celebrity status and a plush life as the top attraction at an earthquake museum, the China Daily said in a report.
The pig, known as "Zhu Jianqiang" which means "Strong Pig", shot to fame after he was discovered alive beneath rubble, 36 days after the earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12.
The pig survived on rainwater and a bag of charcoal and was sold to the Jianchuan Museum, which agreed to nurture him for the rest of his life as a reminder of the nation's resilience in disaster.
Now free from the worry of the slaughterhouse, the pig enjoys a cushy life at the museum, the report said.
"It's gotten fatter and lazier by the day," the paper quoted a museum staff member as saying.
"We used to take it out for a walk every morning and afternoon, but now it's too lazy - and too fat - to do it. So we're feeding it only twice a day."
According to the Red Net forum, the website that held the online vote, the two-year-old pig "vividly illustrated the spirit of never giving up and has become a model for Chinese entrepreneurs amid the current economic downturn."
中國官方媒體報導，一隻在中國西南部大地震中，受困瓦礫堆下三十六天而生還的名豬，榮膺中國年度動物。
《中國日報》報導，這隻在一場網路票選中脫穎而出的豬兒，劫後重生後一夕成名，成為地震博物館中最受歡迎的活招牌，並在那裡過著享受的生活。
這隻豬在今年五月十二日重創四川省的地震中，被困在瓦礫堆下三十六天後才被人發現，牠因此一夕爆紅並贏得了「豬堅強」之名。
這隻豬靠著食用雨水和一袋木炭存活下來，牠的精神被當成中國在困境中堅強生存的指標，因此建川博物館買下牠，照顧牠後半輩子的吃住。
報導指出，現在這隻豬不用憂心會被送到屠宰場，可以安安穩穩地在博物館中渡過下半輩子了。
報導中引述一名博物館員工的話說：「結果牠現在變得愈來愈好吃懶做。」
「以前我們每天早上和下午都會帶牠出外散步，但現在牠又懶又肥走不動了。所以我們現在一天只餵牠吃兩餐。」
舉辦這場網路票選活動的紅網論壇上，有網友認為這隻兩歲的豬「忠實活出永不放棄的精神，並成為中國企業家在這波經濟衰退之際的楷模」。（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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