Panda Killed In China Earthquake Mourned

Mao Mao Was In The Wolong Nature Reserve When The Wall From An Enclosure Fell On Her

(AP)  Nearly a month after China's devastating earthquake, the Wolong Nature Reserve held a funeral Tuesday for a panda that was crushed in the temblor.

The world famous panda center was badly damaged by the May 12 quake but officials initially thought all 64 pandas had survived. They later discovered that two were missing.

Nine-year-old Mao Mao, the mother of five at the breeding center, was found Monday, her body crushed by a wall of her enclosure when the river behind it swelled with landslide debris.

On Tuesday, panda keepers and other workers placed her remains in a small wooden crate and wheeled her quietly to a patch of ground outside the breeding center where a freshly dug hole waited.

The center's director, Zhang Hemin, stood with his cap in hand and then shoveled in a few spades of dirt. Mao Mao's keeper, He Changgui, stepped forward, crying, and placed two apples and a piece of bread by the covered grave. There were three minutes of silence.

As the others left, the director of the U.S.-based Pandas International, Suzanne Braden put her arm around He.

"You must look after her babies, OK?" she said. "And their babies."

He nodded. "I will go back to see her everyday," he said.

Forty-seven pandas continue to live at Wolong, while one other panda, Xiao Xiao, remains missing.

The endangered panda is revered as a kind of national mascot in China. About 1,590 pandas live in the wild, mostly in Sichuan and the neighboring province of Shaanxi. Another 180 have been bred in captivity.

The nature reserve was heavily damaged by the quake, which was centered just 20 miles away in the heart of Sichuan province's mountainous panda country. Five Wolong staff members were killed in the quake. Most staffers, tourists and pandas were outside at the time.

Nearly 70,000 people were killed, and more than 5 million were left homeless by the 7.9-magnitude quake.

Some of Wolong's pandas have been moved to another breeding center in Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu, and eight were flown to Beijing for a previously scheduled six-month stay at the Beijing Zoo for the Olympics.

The center will have to be relocated to a new site because of safety issues, said Huang Yan, deputy director of research, but it will remain within the confines of Wolong Nature Reserve, which is located in a damp, narrow valley several hours' drive from Chengdu.

He, Mao Mao's keeper, returned from the grave with red eyes. He had been the panda's only keeper since she was 3 years old. He would speak to her in the local Sichuan dialect as he worked.

"It's like you could say something and she would understand," he said. "If you were happy, she was happy too."

[lovesamerica]

I think it was wonderful for them to have a service for the Panda. As it is the symbol for China,they are showing respect for their fellow countrymen as well as a beautiful endangered species. Those sicko Panda eaters...guess what, we are food too. We are just killing all the natural predators that try it. And you have no niceness in your body or spirit

[rational_1]

Pandas, like horses, cats, and goldfish, are FOOD!!!
Posted by DaVicar2 at 12:01 PM : Jun 10, 2008

I think you might want to consider re-thinking the restaurants you patronize. Ever considered beef or chicken?

[joechristine]

I think mourning a pandan killed in China earthquake demonstrates that Chinese refugees still harbour kindness and hope of future life.As i know,Chinese in Sichuan are well-known for their hardworking,strong willingness,wisdom ,fortitudinous character ,optimistic and positive spirit!

[cdfoxtrot]

Thirdly, all life IS scared...especially that sacred cow that was ground up into that Big Mac I had for dinner last night.

Posted by DaVicar2

Have some tomato with that. Lots and lots of it.
It''s "real good" for you.

[cdfoxtrot]

110 Thousand Human People die, and these jerkos have a memorial service for a stupid bear!

Wake up, China!

Posted by DaVicar2

Whether or not anyone grieves for the panda bears has no impact whatsoever on the people who suffered from the earthquake. Perhaps the fact that Chinese people can grieve like this for a panda bear and Americans like you think it''s absurd says a lot about both peoples and your state of development? Gandhi said you can judge a people by how they treat their animals. I agree. I could never see something like this ceremony happening state side, and if it did, it would be subject to ridicule in the media.

[dtavares97]

These animals are just as important as humans. Her keeper has every right to grieve. She was an ambassador for her species and she was part of their future. There are only 1500 of her kind left. DaVicar2 and SistaTee you are both very very cold earthlings. All life is sacred.

[sistatee-2009]

Mao Mao is dead? That REALLY BOTHERS ME!