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BEIJING: Six rare giant pandas were transferred on Friday from the world-famous breeding centre at Wolong, joining eight other animals which will leave the site in southwest China due to the severe damage caused by last week's quake.
Xinhua news agency said the six of the endangered animals were trucked to another nature reserve in quake-hit Sichuan province because of damage to their shelters and a food shortage caused by the May 12 earthquake.
"There is enough water now, but food is still a major problem. The pandas are in urgent need of bamboos and apples," Xiong Beirong, an official with the Sichuan provincial forestry bureau, was quoted as saying.
The pandas were headed for a reserve near the city of Ya'an, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the southwest.
The fate of the Wolong pandas, possibly Sichuan's most famed residents, has been a cause of public concern following the quake.
Wolong is a major tourist draw to the region and source of some of the animals that China has loaned to overseas zoos in diplomatic goodwill gestures.
The epicentre of last week's quake was in Wenchuan county, about 30 kilometres from Wolong.
The quake had a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale, and caused catastrophic damage and at least 55,000 deaths.
Eight other pandas were to be flown out of Sichuan to Beijing Zoo on Saturday, a zoo spokeswoman told AFP on Thursday.
However, that was a previously scheduled transfer as the pandas were due to be displayed in the capital during the August 8-24 Olympic Games.
"The eight pandas will arrive at the zoo from Wolong on Saturday. We still don't know their condition and won't be able to judge that until they arrive here," the spokeswoman said.
AFP calls to the Wolong reserve on Friday went unanswered.
Previous state media reports said five Wolong centre staff were killed by the quake.
The Wolong centre has 86 pandas registered on its books, including those loaned out to zoos, Xinhua said. It was not immediately clear how many would remain there following the transfers.
Authorities had sent the reserve a large shipment of bamboo shoots – the panda's staple food – and other sustenance in recent days, the China Daily reported on Thursday.
The panda 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.
- AFP/so
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