***Update***China’s Xinhuanet reports all the pandas at the Wolong reserve and its satellites are safe! The babies have been moved to a safer location. Wonderful news!***
**Update** From the National Zoo: “We have still not gotten any news from our colleagues at the Wolong Nature Reserve, but we know that the area was hit hard by Monday’s earthquake. There is no phone access at Wolong, and the reserve’s only road to Wenchuan (and Wolong) was heavily damaged. We will provide an update when we learn about the welfare of Wolong’s pandas and staff.
The director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has confirmed that all Chengdu staff, their families, and the base’s more than 60 pandas are fine.”**
The enormous devastation and loss of life is unimaginable in China’s Sichuan province. We just got a frightening update from Pandas International, a group with headquarters in Littleton, Colorado. Giant pandas are my favorite bears and the news about Wolong makes me sick.
While we do not know much — we wanted to update everyone concerned about the pandas — regarding the earthquake in China.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit in Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon at 2:29 pm local time. The quake struck 57 miles north-west of the city of Chengdu Monday. The epicenter of the quake was in Beichuan County China. This is considered a Major quake.
As of 11:00 Mountain time Chinese report the death toll at about 9,000. The death toll has been steadily increasing, raising concerns that the number could go far higher.
The Chengdu airport has been closed. The Chengdu Panda base is on the outskirts of the City of Chengdu. The Wolong Panda Center is in Wenchuan in Sichuan Province very close to the epicenter and about 55 miles from Chengdu. Officials are struggling to assess the full scope of the damage in Wenchuan and elsewhere because of the disruption in communications caused by the earthquake. More than 2,300 cell phone towers were knocked down by the quake, according to China Mobile, the country’s top carrier.
We have heard that the road to Wolong is heavily damaged, so access has been cut off. Roads are blocked so emergency rescue workers can not get in. This is a very mountainous region.We will continue to keep you updated as we gain information.
The needs in the area to help the pandas and the care takers will most likely be great. We will let you know what the needs are as soon as we know.
The National Zoo reports on its panda blog that all at the Chengdu breeding base are safe. Animals Asia Foundation’s moon bear sanctuary is not far from there. The AAF sanctuary sustained damage in the bear kitchen, staff quarters, and another building. Jill Robinson reports in her blog that all people and bears there are safe.
The area of Wolong, near the epicenter, is the only natural giant panda habitat in the world. We say, with great uncertainty, that there may be 1,200 left in the wild.
s.
Filed under: endangered species, wildlife conservation Tagged: | china, earthquake, giant pandas, wolong
Sheryl, this is awful! So if I read right, all Panda Sanctruary’s near the quake are safe, but you have not heard the fate of the Wolong Reserve? I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed with you that this reserve has come through this okay. Lisa
Yes, the Chengdu giant panda breeding base and the Animals Asia moon bear sanctuary report that all human and non-human animals are safe. There is still no word from Wolong, which is the larger of the two conservation and research centers for the giant pandas. I hope for the best but fear the worst.
s.