City Zoo staff in China quake aid trip

Published on Monday 7 July 2008 10:28

OFFICIALS from Edinburgh Zoo are planning a trip to China this month to continue talks aimed at bringing a breeding pair of giant pandas to the capital attraction.

David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, and Iain Valentine, head of animals and conservation at the zoo, have already signed a letter of intent with officials at the Wolong Panda Conservation and Research Centre in Sichuan province.

The Zoo has since sent money and communications equipment to help staff there deal with the aftermath of May's earthquake which devastated the region.

Now staff are to head out to offer more help with the animals.

The Wolong Centre is close to the epicentre of the earthquake, which struck on May 12 and let 87,000 people dead or missing.

One of the centre's pandas was killed and another is missing, while the majority of the 64 pandas there have been re-homed. Its facilities were badly damaged and there is still a risk of aftershocks.

Mr Windmill said his team were still hopeful they would be able to bring pandas to the Zoo next year.

"We remain confident that we will get the pandas," he said. "The earthquake could speed up the process if the centre is looking for places to re-home its pandas, or it may delay it.

"We want to get first hand information on the situation, and find out exactly what the impact will be on our plans."