Panda census in Shaanxi
Source: Xinhua |
March 27, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FORESTRY authorities in northwest China Shaanxi Province said yesterday that they have begun a year-and-a-half-long effort to comb forests for giant pandas to determine how many of the endangered animals are living in the wild.
The census in Shaanxi, one of the major habitats of giant pandas, is part of a once-a-decade nationwide panda census that began in the 1970s. The search for pandas in the Qinling Mountains kicked off after months of preparation, including setting up and training a team of over 600 trackers, said a statement from the provincial forestry department.
The previous census counted 1,596 wild pandas in China. A decade ago, 273 of them lived in Shaanxi and most of the rest lived in neighboring Sichuan Province.
Sichuan started its census in October. Authorities there said trackers would collect panda droppings for DNA analysis, allowing zoologists to track individual pandas and accurately estimate how many live in the wild.
Field research in Shaanxi is expected to finish by October 2013, the statement said.
The census in Shaanxi, one of the major habitats of giant pandas, is part of a once-a-decade nationwide panda census that began in the 1970s. The search for pandas in the Qinling Mountains kicked off after months of preparation, including setting up and training a team of over 600 trackers, said a statement from the provincial forestry department.
The previous census counted 1,596 wild pandas in China. A decade ago, 273 of them lived in Shaanxi and most of the rest lived in neighboring Sichuan Province.
Sichuan started its census in October. Authorities there said trackers would collect panda droppings for DNA analysis, allowing zoologists to track individual pandas and accurately estimate how many live in the wild.
Field research in Shaanxi is expected to finish by October 2013, the statement said.
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