A devastating earthquake hits panda country

 

China's worst earthquake in more than 30 years - a 7.9 magnitude - struck right in the heart of giant panda country on May 12, 2008. The devastation in Sichuan Province and neighboring regions was unspeakable: nearly 70,000 people lost their lives; more than 17,000 people are still missing; cities and towns were reduced to rubble; mountainside villages were completely buried by landslides; and one of the San Diego Zoo's partners in conservation, the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center and Reserve, was severely damaged and needs to be completely rebuilt in a new location within the Reserve. The San Diego Zoo is helping to support the reconstruction efforts.

 

Update on the Wolong giant pandas

 

• Fifty three of Wolong’s giant pandas, as well as the research and administrative staff, have been relocated to Wolong’s satellite facility, the Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base. Bifengxia is located two hours south of Chengdu in the Sichuan Province.

 

• Thirteen giant panda cubs were born in 2008 at Bifengxia. Most of the mothers were rescued at Wolong. Bifengxia now has the largest panda population of any breeding facility or zoo: 142 giant pandas

 

• Some of Wolong’s giant pandas have been relocated to zoos in China, including eight pandas that went to Beijing for the Olympics.

 

• The Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center will be reconstructed at a new location within the Wolong Nature Reserve. The estimated cost is $292 million (2 billion yuan) and the completion is scheduled for 2015.

 

• The new center will include naturalistic enclosures for pandas, a panda hospital, a laboratory, a panda cub play yard, a bamboo plantation, and a site for introducing giant pandas into the wild.

 

• The Wolong panda team and the San Diego Zoo play a critical role in the conservation of the giant panda species.

 

Help for Wolong from the San Diego Zoo

 

The San Diego Zoo, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and several other U.S. zoos are providing crucial financial support for the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center to help rebuild the center and care for its pandas and dedicated staff. Your generosity in contributing to our efforts is sincerely appreciated and will help us make a difference at this important giant panda conservation center.

 

How you can help:

Donate Now!

 

• Make a check payable to "Zoological Society of San Diego" and mail it to:

San Diego Zoo
Wolong Panda Center Earthquake Relief
P.O. Box 120271
San Diego, CA 92112

 

• If you would like to donate stock, please call:
  619-231-1515, ext. 4421