Wednesday, May 14, 2008
THE MASSIVE earthquake that struck China leaving tens of thousands dead or missing also struck at the heart of the country's tourism industry, the home of the giant panda.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said yesterday that 63 giant pandas at two breeding centres near the quake zone were safe.
The fate of another 150 or so inmates of China's most famous panda park, the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre, was unclear.
The 7.9-magnitude quake, which hit Sichuan province early Monday afternoon, reportedly shook the park, about three hours drive from Chengdu, the provincial capital.
Like many parts of Sichuan, the park could not be reached by telephone after the quake, which was felt thousands of kilometres away.
In the same region, a sanctuary for moon bears rescued from operations that milk their bile for supposedly medicinal purposes, run by Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation, said it had been unaffected by the quake, though all phone lines were down and email contact sporadic.
"The news is still coming in, but the good news is that people and bears are safe at the rescue centre in Chengdu," said AAF's Jill Robinson on the organisation's website.
"The quake was felt at the sanctuary and everyone ran to the car park - buildings are apparently intact but are now slowly being checked."
Xinhua earlier reported that 15 Britons were among 2,000 tourists stranded in the region and out of contact.
It quoted a local official as saying the British tourists were probably in Wolong. British authorities sent emergency personnel to the area to help with search and rescue efforts.
The panda has become central to China's tourism industry, with around 100,000 people a year visiting the Wolong park alone.
It is one of the world's most endangered species, with an estimated 1,600 in nature parks in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 239 in captivity, Chinese media have said.
UNESCO granted Sichuan's giant panda sanctuaries World Heritage status in 2006, describing them as "among the botanically richest sites of any region in the world outside the tropical rainforest" and also home to endangered snow and clouded leopards.
AFP
The state-run Xinhua news agency said yesterday that 63 giant pandas at two breeding centres near the quake zone were safe.
The fate of another 150 or so inmates of China's most famous panda park, the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre, was unclear.
The 7.9-magnitude quake, which hit Sichuan province early Monday afternoon, reportedly shook the park, about three hours drive from Chengdu, the provincial capital.
Like many parts of Sichuan, the park could not be reached by telephone after the quake, which was felt thousands of kilometres away.
In the same region, a sanctuary for moon bears rescued from operations that milk their bile for supposedly medicinal purposes, run by Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation, said it had been unaffected by the quake, though all phone lines were down and email contact sporadic.
"The news is still coming in, but the good news is that people and bears are safe at the rescue centre in Chengdu," said AAF's Jill Robinson on the organisation's website.
"The quake was felt at the sanctuary and everyone ran to the car park - buildings are apparently intact but are now slowly being checked."
Xinhua earlier reported that 15 Britons were among 2,000 tourists stranded in the region and out of contact.
It quoted a local official as saying the British tourists were probably in Wolong. British authorities sent emergency personnel to the area to help with search and rescue efforts.
The panda has become central to China's tourism industry, with around 100,000 people a year visiting the Wolong park alone.
It is one of the world's most endangered species, with an estimated 1,600 in nature parks in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 239 in captivity, Chinese media have said.
UNESCO granted Sichuan's giant panda sanctuaries World Heritage status in 2006, describing them as "among the botanically richest sites of any region in the world outside the tropical rainforest" and also home to endangered snow and clouded leopards.
AFP