All 340 wild pandas in quake area unharmed

CHENGDU－A head count completed two weeks after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Southwest China has confirmed that all 340 wild giant pandas in the quake zone are unharmed.

Eleven nature reserves－10 of which are dedicated to protecting giant pandas, golden monkeys and their habitats were affected by the earthquake that struck Jiuzhaigou county in Sichuan province on Aug 8, local officials said.

The 340 pandas account for 31 percent of the wild panda population in China, they said.

The earthquake triggered landslides in the mountainous region. Twenty-four people were killed and hundreds of others were injured.

Bin Junyi, deputy head of the Sichuan provincial forestry department, said that although the pandas survived the quake, their habitat sustained severe damage.

The natural recovery of the panda habitat will take a long time, he said.

Giant pandas live mainly in the mountains of Sichuan and neighboring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Their survival is being threatened by habitat loss and low birthrates.