By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 13, 2008
CHENGDU, China (AP) -- All the pandas at the world's most famous panda preserve were reported safe late Tuesday, more than a day after China's worst earthquake in three decades closed off the remote, mountainous area.
The Wolong National Nature Reserve and panda breeding center is the only place in the world where the rare animals can be seen in such large numbers. But Chinese officials and zoo officials overseas had worried about the fate of the center's 86 pandas since Monday's devastating earthquake rattled nearby areas in central Sichuan province.
Late Tuesday, officials at Wolong used a satellite phone to contact the State Forestry Administration and report that the pandas were safe, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said all panda cubs had been taken to safety.
Thirty-one British tourists panda-watching in Wolong and initially reported missing were safe and in the provincial capital of Chengdu Tuesday night, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
No mention was made of a group of 12 Americans in the area on a tour sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. Kerry Zobor, U.S.-based spokeswoman for the WWF, said they have not been able to contact the WWF members.
Pandas are a national symbol for China. They are loaned to other countries as friendship offerings in what has become known as ''panda politics.'' They are so rare and so slow to breed that any large-scale loss could have been critical to the population.
More than 60 pandas at another breeding center in Chengdu are safe, and the center reopened to tourists Tuesday morning, Xinhua said. Another eight pandas at a preserve in Ya'an, about an hour's drive west of Chengdu, were reported safe as well.
But the Wolong center is deep in the hills north of Chengdu along a winding, two-lane road that reports say was wiped out in places by the quake. Earlier phone and e-mail contact had failed.
Pandas are among the world's rarest animals. Both the Wolong and Chengdu centers are part of efforts to breed giant pandas in hopes of increasing the species' chances of survival. About 1,600 pandas live in the wild in China's mountainous west and another 180 live in captivity.
The Wolong center offers visitors the rare chance to play with young pandas, while wearing sterile gloves, booties and gowns for the pandas' safety.
It is also difficult to reach, even in the best of times. Rescue workers only reached nearby areas by foot Tuesday, a day after the quake struck.
''We are terribly concerned and we are hoping the report is true,'' said Suzanne Braden, director of U.S.-based Pandas International, which supports Wolong with medical equipment and supplies. ''I am waiting for confirmation that someone has actually made it to Wolong.''
Braden said she feared that medical supplies and other equipment needed for newborn cubs were lost in the quake and that enclosures in the reserve might have been damaged. ''We certainly don't want captive pandas to get out into the wild,'' she said.
译文:
据报道中国的大熊猫保护区目前安全
美联社报道 发布于2008年5月13日
中国，成都（美联社）-- 周二晚些时候，据报道世界上最著名的大熊猫保护区里的所有熊猫都十分安全，而一天前中国发生了近三十年来最严重的地震，导致遥远的深山地区处于封闭的状态。
卧龙国家自然保护区和大熊猫饲养中心是世界上唯一的保护区，在那里可以观察到如此多数量的珍稀动物--大熊猫。但是自从四川省中部和周边地区周一发生了毁灭性的大地震之后，中国政府和海外的动物专家们都很为中心86只大熊猫的命运担忧。
新华社官员说，周二晚些时候，卧龙政府用卫星电话联系上了国家林业局，汇报称大熊猫全部处于安全情况。所有的大熊猫幼崽都被转移到安全地带。
中国外交部的一份声明中说道，31名在卧龙观赏大熊猫的英国游客最初曾被报道失踪，目前也全部安全并于周二晚抵达省会成都市。
关于一队12人的美国游客的情况则没有被提及，这队游客在当地旅游是由世界自然基金会赞助的。美国建立的世界自然基金会发言人克里·佐博尔说他们还没有和世界自然基金会成员取得联系。
熊猫是中国的象征。他们被视为友谊的馈赠前往其他国家，这就是“熊猫外交”。熊猫十分稀有，哺养过程缓慢，如果有任何大规模的损失对整个熊猫的数量都将产生重大影响。
新华社报道，在成都的另一个饲养中心，60多只熊猫都处于安全状态，该中心将于周二上午对游客重新开放。据报道，另外八只在雅安保护区的大熊猫也很安全，该保护区位于成都以西近一小时的车程。
但是卧龙中心位于成都南部的深山中，连接两地的是一条曲折的双车道公路，据报道这条公路已经被地震严重破坏。早些时候两地电话和电子邮件的联系都中断了。
大熊猫属于世界最珍稀的动物。卧龙和成都中心饲养的大熊猫都是大熊猫保护的成就之一，人们希望这样能够增加这个物种存活的可能性。在中国西部的山区大约有1600只野生大熊猫，另有180只被人工饲养。
卧龙中心几乎很少给游客提供与大熊猫幼崽游玩的机会，在饲养大熊猫时佩戴消过毒的手套，所带物品和外套也都是经过消毒的，这样是为了大熊猫的健康安全。
即使在一天中的最佳时间也很难接近灾区。援救人员靠步行也只能于周二抵达附近区域，这已经是地震发生的后一天了。
“我们也很担惊受怕，希望这些汇报都是真的，” 美国建立的熊猫国际的主任苏珊娜·布莱登说，这个机构为卧龙提供药物设备和补给品。“我正在等候消息确认有人到达卧龙地区了。”
布莱登说她担心在地震中给新生幼崽的药物补给品和其他设备有所损失，备用的围栏可能也遭到损坏。她说，“我们当然不希望被人工饲养的大熊猫进入野生环境。”
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