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Pandas settled in 'second home'

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-24 09:19

HANGZHOU  -- Two giant pandas arrived at Anji County in China's eastern Zhejiang Province late on Wednesday, to settle in their second home.

"Olympic Pandas" come out to welcome tourists during the Games in Beijing Zoo. [sohu.com]

Leshan and Zhenda, two male pandas, both 2.5 years old, were moved from the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base, Sichuan Province, to Anji Bamboo Museum Garden, an 81-hectare area with 389 bamboo species.

Professional feeders and vets have come from Hangzhou, Zhejiang provincial capital, and Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu to take special care of the new arrivals. The feeders said the pair were in good shape now and each ate more than 80 kg of bamboo daily.

Ge Yunfa, the head of the Zhejiang branch of China's Seed and Gene Protection Center for Endangered Wild Plants and Animals, said selection of a "second home" started a few weeks after the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan. Thanks to its pleasant environment and abundant bamboo, a staple of the panda diet, Anji stood out over its competitors.

The May 12 earthquake caused deaths of giant pandas and damages to their homes.