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Giant pandas suffer post-quake trauma

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-14 20:39

When they feel safe enough, the three pandas will enjoy themselves in the playground. "They rolled all the way down the slope and stacked themselves up, one on top of another," Xiao said. "But they were extremely scared of loud noises."

When thunder struck on Saturday night, they all woke up startled, trying to get out of their pen. "At last they huddled together and trembled in the corner, Xiao said. "They were like that when strong aftershocks were felt and landslides occurred back in Sichuan."

Before the Sichuan quake, the young pandas were never scared of thunder. "They occasionally opened their eyes but would soon fall asleep again," Xiao said.

To console the pandas Xiao and colleagues always pat them before and during their meals, tenderly call their pet names and talk with them in Sichuan dialect. "We need to show extra care. Let's hope time will eventually heal."

Shortly after the quake, eight pandas from the Wolong base were airlifted to Beijing Zoo where they will stay through the Olympics. Another five were transferred to the Xiangjiang Safari Park in southern Guangzhou.

Experts and authorities are working on plans to rebuild the Wolong center, only 30 km from the quake's epicenter Wenchuan. The latest plan proposes relocation of the center from its Hetaoping base to Huangcaoping, involving an investment of 2 billion yuan (290 million US dollars).

The plan, proposed by the Wolong reserve, Beijing University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, includes a lab, a panda hospital, a 1,500-square meter cub pen and a bamboo cultivation area. If approved, the rebuilding would hopefully be completed in 2015.

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