China prepares to send pandas to new Sichuan home

• Bangulzai

  22 Mar 09, 21:11

  China prepares to send pandas to new Sichuan home

  

  Eight pandas were being readied for their journey back to central China on Sunday, ending a 10-month stay at the Beijing Zoo that was extended after their nature reserve was badly damaged in last year's massive earthquake, state television said.

  CCTV showed panda keepers luring the bears into individual cages with carrot sticks and bits of steamed cornbread. The cages were strapped onto rolling platforms for loading onto a plane.

  The report said the pandas would leave Beijing on Sunday evening for their new home in Sichuan province. Their former home, the world-famous Wolong reserve was nearly destroyed in the May 12 earthquake.

  Their visit to the capital, which was planned before the quake, was meant to add cheer to the Olympics in August.

  The pandas have been closely watched because they seemed nervous after the quake, sometimes eating and sleeping less. The Wolong reserve's location in a damp, narrow valley several hours' drive from Chengdu, the Sichuan capital, made it vulnerable during the 7.9-magnitude quake, which sent boulders the size of cars crashing down. Most of the staffers, tourists and pandas were outside at the time.

  The temblor left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing, including five Wolong staffers.

  The pandas were being flown to Chengdu before being transferred to Bifengxia Giant Panda Base in the town of Ya'an.

  CCTV said the pandas' new home features an air-conditioned indoor area and a large outdoor area with play facilities designed to resemble their natural habitat.

  About 1,590 pandas are living in the wild, mostly in Sichuan and the western province of Shaanxi. An additional 180 have been bred in captivity.

  The Wolong reserve has leased pandas to zoos for breeding, including the San Diego Zoo. Zoo Atlanta's panda duo, which produced cub Mei Lan in 2006, are from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding about a three-hour drive from Wolong.

  Wolong is part of efforts to breed giant pandas in hopes of increasing the species' chances of survival.

  22-03-2009 - 01:56
• TooFree

  22 Mar 09, 21:14

  Such a small cage for a big panda. So much for humanity in China.

• Pitot

  22 Mar 09, 21:17

  omg toofree is back yo

• lianamaster

  4 Apr 09, 21:54

  Hope they are fine.

• Bangulzai

  5 Apr 09, 23:49

  Originally posted by TooFree:

  Such a small cage for a big panda. So much for humanity in China.

  
  

• Bangulzai

  27 Apr 09, 00:16

  China relocates last pandas from quake-hit habitat

  China has moved the last batch of pandas still living in a world-famous preserve badly damaged in last year's devastating earthquake to a nearby facility, state television reported Sunday.

  CCTV said in a news broadcast the six pandas were moved on Saturday from the Wolong Panda Breeding Center, near Sichuan's capital of Chengdu, to another breeding facility in the same province.

  The pandas were shown playing in a wooden house and chewing on bamboo shoots after being transported in metal cages and released into a new enclosure in the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base in the town of Ya'an.

  The Wolong preserve was nearly destroyed in the May 12 earthquake, which sent boulders the size of cars crashing onto it and killed at least one panda. The quake left 90,000 people dead or missing.

  Most of the 63 pandas living there have since been relocated to zoos around the country. The Wolong preserve had been the heart of China's effort to use captive breeding and artificial insemination to save giant pandas, which are revered as an unofficial national mascot.

  Earlier this month, state media said China will begin building a new panda breeding center in May to replace Wolong.

  Only about 1,600 pandas live in the wild, mostly in Sichuan. An additional 180 have been bred in captivity, many of them at Wolong, and scores have been loaned or given to zoos abroad, with the revenues helping fund conservation programs.

  26-04-2009 - 08:16