My Friends in Wolong
Posted at 1:03 pm May 15, 2008 by Ron SwaisgoodI’ve just spent the evening googling “wolong earthquake” and “panda earthquake” to get the latest on the situation in Wolong. I checked my e-mail again and called all my friends’ cell phone numbers again. A frustrating experience. I can’t get through to anyone and have very little information on Wolong. I’m relieved about the reports stating that the pandas at the Wolong breeding center are safe, but disappointed that I can’t get more information about the staff. One report, fairly reliable, states that someone from Wolong made a satellite phone call to the State Forestry Administration saying that the staff are okay. Someone else says that they talked to the panda vet at Bifengxia, who apparently spoke to someone in Wolong and said they were okay. I’m glad the information is positive, but still only a little relieved.
These people are my good friends. I started living and working with them in 1996. I’ve eaten dinner at their houses, played cards with them, traveled with them, joked and worked with them. I played basketball with them every day it didn’t rain. I watched their children grow up. For the first five years or so I was over there living in Wolong for several months each year. It is my second home. Recently, I’ve moved to another reserve where I am studying wild pandas with different friends and colleagues, so I haven’t seen my Wolong friends as often as I’d like to.
I also know many of the pandas as individuals. I saw many of them being born. I watched them grow up, side by side with my human friends’ children. I am also concerned for their welfare, but believe that as long as the people taking care of them are okay, they’ll be okay. I didn’t expect many, if any, pandas to die. Most would be outside, the others in small bedrooms. If the bedrooms collapsed, I think a panda could withstand the falling concrete. Pandas are quite a bit tougher than humans. At 2:47 p.m., the time of the quake, people may be in their offices in 3-story buildings. The epicenter of the quake was nearby, so I imagine that many of these buildings have been demolished. I received an e-mail from Chinese contacts stating that indeed the area was “severely damaged.” I just have to wait to find out what, exactly, that means.
When I hear that, perhaps, none of the staff at the Wolong center were killed, I still worry. Even if none of the staff working at Wolong, more than 20 people living there may have been killed, according to some reports. I worry even more about their families. Many of the staff at Wolong have a second home in Dujiangyan, the city at the base of the mountain that was severely damaged by the quake. Here their spouses find work and their children go to school. Were any of them in the school there that collapsed, killing hundreds? The staff live in a complex of concrete apartment buildings six stories high. I’ve spent many weekends there, usually staying with my friend’s family on the sixth floor. I worry about them and all the other families there. Other reports indicate that an upstream dam is damaged and the army is working frantically to shore it up before it breaks. If it does, it will bring more devastation to Dujiangyan.
I am concerned for the pandas in the aftermath of the earthquake. They may escape damaged enclosures. Food and medicines may run low. Their human caretakers may be injured or dealing with the devastating results of the quake and not have time to give the pandas the best care possible. The best way to help the pandas, I believe, is to help the people taking care of the pandas. If their needs for food, shelter, and family security are met, they will continue to take excellent care of the pandas with the resources they have available to them.
I hope both my panda and people friends at Wolong are okay and that they will pull through this in the face of what must be horrific devastation.
Ron Swaisgood is the co-head of the San Diego Zoo’s Giant Panda Conservation Unit.
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May 15th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
God bless you, Ron Swaisgood. My heart aches for you, as your heart and ours aches for the people and pandas of China. Thank you so much for your post; I hope it has helped you just to write your feelings down. As much as it hurts, it also helps us to share in your thoughts. We must focus on prayers for China –and donations — and aid in any form.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I truly appreciate your update. My heart hurts for you, the victims in China, and especially our beloved pandas. What would be the best way to help? Panda International is taking donations. Would that help pandas and their caregivers/families? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I need to do something.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I add my hopes to yours for the people as well as the pandas of Wolong. I am sure SDZ will continue to keep us apprised of any news and any way that we can be of help. Until then our prayers are with the caretakers and their families and our beloved pandas. I send up special wishes for Hua Mei and her babies as well as the wonderful people who care for them.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The latest newsleter from Pandas International, says that buildings at Wolong have been badly damaged, and the houses where the staff live have suffered badly. They are not able to live in them now. When the ground started shaking the pandas all run away from the buildings, but they are safe. The British visitors had only just been holding the pandas when it happened. The staff at Wolong gathered the visitors together to shelter under a brick shelter. When the ground stopped shaking they got them onto a coach to get them to a hotel for safety, but they ended up staying on the coach until thursday morning.
There are now concerns for the water as they are worried about it being safe and not contaminated.
One good thing is that the aftershocks have now stopped. There is concern though about getting bamboo for the pandas because of all the damage. The staff at Wolong are working day and night trying to repair what they can.
Pandas International are now accepting donations to help provide what Wolong need, as there will soon be some cubs born.
There is still no news on Hua Mei or her babies, but we all must hope and pray that they are all ok.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I heard this morning from someone working at the Chengdu Panda Base that they are fine there, have food, electricity, and water. The staff member said that news reports said that 40 pandas are injured and 4 are missing, although they weren’t clear if that was about Wolong. News reports from the Brits rescued from Wolong say that cute, new hotel was flattened.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Thank you for the updates on the earthquake in China. I, too, was constantly refreshing my google news with any latest updates on Wolong Nature Reserve. Only when I started reading more articles that the pandas are okay did I finally start to feel relieved. While I’m very grateful that the pandas are safe, my prayers continue for the the many families and victims that are suffering over there.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Ron, my heart goes out with yours to all the people of China who have been devistated by the earthquake. The pandas in captivity need their human friends more than ever now. I have already donated to the fund being raised here in Vancouver.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I live in earthquake country, so the people of China as well as the pandas have a special place in my heart right now. We got a pretty strong taste of what a 7+ earthquake feels like in 1989, but the one in China was much stronger. I pray that all the people and pandas get the help they need very soon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Sammy from UK, I totally agree with you on continual prayers for all affected by the earthquake! Out of all the places in China, why Wolong and its vicinities? I am very much saddened by this and is in daily contact with Suzanne Braden of Pandas Int’l for updates.
Ron, once you’ve heard the extent of damage and needs from the Wolong folks, will you set up a fund drive for them as well? Please keep us in the loop. Thank you.
I am very worried about Hua Mei and her kids too.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Thanks, Ron for sharing your thoughts, and giving us an insight into life at Wolong and surrounding areas, both from human and panda viewpoint. My heart aches for you as it does for the Chinese people. I agree whole-heartedly with Barbara #1’s comments. We must all watch and pray. Now that the rescue workers are in the area, they can do more to help the injured, and help survivors find their family members. You are so right that the human needs must be met quickly if anyone is to be able to provide the excellent care that they give the pandas. I read that they will be using protein biscuits and bread to the pandas until they can get the full supply of bamboo needed. At the present time the devastated road to Wolong and mountain area is being used to carry the wounded and dead. It is not able to be used to carry food for people or pandas yet.
I just hope that everyone, humans and pandas, can hold on until the necessary help arrives.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Many thanks for the information regarding the pandas. Is there an address for Panda International?
Is the San Diego Zoo accepting donations?
Moderator’s note: We’ll keep you posted.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
This is indeed a tragedy for both animal and human populations in China. Even with the great progress by the Chinese and international community helping the Giant Panda numbers rebound, we always knew that if the nightmare scenario happened like a natural or man-made catastrophie happens, the work and effort might be severely jeopardised.
Although the news from China is encouraging concerning the captive panda population, we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that some of the captive pandas won’t make it through. And it will be some time before we can estimate what the loss in the wild population might be. Hopefully pandas can sense danger and avoid it, just like the elephants in Indonesia were able to sense the coming of the Tsunami and get to higher ground.
Because the captive panda population is still small, we know many of the individual pandas and we treat them as dear friends and even family as mentioned by Dr. Swaisgood. Of course we are all concerned about Mei Sheng and Hua Mei, but I’m also worried about Shi Shi and the Grand Dame of pandas; Qing Qing.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Ron, your blog was very touching. I truly feel very sad for the people of China and also great sorrow not knowing exactly what our beloved pandas are going through. How frustrating it is for you not to be able to reach your former colleagues in Wolong. There is so much unimaginable pain and suffering at this time.
I pray that you will soon hear good news from your collegaues in Wolong so that you and all of us will regain new hope that everyone and every panda is okay and things will begin to get back to normal.
God Bless.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Ron, How frustrating it must be for you not to be able news about your friends - there have been so many conflicting reports - but know that we are all praying for the people & the safety of the pandas. It’s too bad it takes a disaster to bring people together - just a couple of weeks ago there were major protests against China as the Olympic torch was carried through cities. It’s always the innocent civilians that suffer
because of its governments policies & now this disaster.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Ron, I can only try to imagine what you must be going through - having vested interest in both the humans and the pandas at Wolong must be terribly stressful. Has anyone heard an update on Scott, who was Mei Sheng’s handler when he first got there?
I keep reading conflicting information - it seems that there are injured pandas, possible casualties or are they all safe? Pandas International has been wonderful as well as the SDZ, sending updates in the midst of all this chaos and I’m sure it’s so frustrating for them as well, waiting and wondering, communications sketchy at best, but it seems they didn’t have the same optimism regarding the panda’s safety as reported on the SDZ site.
I am overwhelmed by the helplessness I am feeling. All I can do is donate to Pandas International and try to keep positive thoughts at this point. Ron, please know that we are sympathizing with you and only hope pandas and humans alike at Wolong are safe and sound.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Ron, thank you for your insights on the human side of this very tragic series of events. I find that it is easy for me to be unaware how other people of the world live. We know that our big love of pandas has caused us to be very concerned for preserving the pandas. But, maybe it is too for the big purpose of caring for these people of the world at this very difficult time.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Thank you for the update, Ron.
Please let us know here in the US what we can do to help families in China. Let us know, okay? The Chinese have made such a remakrble effort to reach the vicitims. So comendable!!!! We have to watch with awe how hard they are handling this diificult situation. Please keep us all updated on what we vn fo to help.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Hi, Ron! Read your comments tonite! It sounds like you are very concerned for everyone that works at Wolong and lives near there, and have been really working hard to get in contact with them. It’s been tough on you, hasn’t it? I have not heard about whether electricity and landline phones have been reconnected in that quake zone at all, so that has got to be frustrating when you are trying to reach someone there. Cphone towers are also down (about 2,300 from what I’ve read a couple of days ago), so using the cphone has been horrible as well in contacting people. The only way to get in touch with anyone in that quake zone is thru the satellite (sat) phone, which was how someone got in touch with Pandas International, SDZ, and NZ about the situation with the pandas. I have the Chinese people, the panda reserves, and everyone working hard to get people out of the rubble in my prayers. There have been rescues of survivors over the last couple of days that have been in the rubble for nearly 72 hours max. That gives everyone some hope, but as time goes by that survival rate will be going down quickly. I read somewhere that the Chinese government is asking for about 30 helicopters to bring in more rescue workers and relief supplies to the hardest hit areas of the quake zone. Also, another 30,000 more military troops are trying to get into that area as well. The strongest need that they want right now are those heavy duty front loaders to get in there to help in the removal of all of the much larger debris that still need to be lifted to find other people as well as recover the bodies that are under all of that destruction. Roads are still in broken, impassable condition still, but I think that some of the large equipment can be very useful in removing alot of the landslide debris off the roads so that emergency personnel can get thru there faster. Animals have this sixth sense within them when it comes to impending disasters, such as earthquakes. Their hearing is so much better than ours that they can hear that very low rumbling underneath better that we can’t hear, and animals know when to get to somewhere safe. The 2004 tsunami was a great example of that animal sixth sense. I think that’s what the wild pandas may have done, and when the field researchers are able to get out there again, they will be able to find them in safe areas. The problem for the wild pandas will be finding bamboo to eat since that area in the quake zone may have been damaged. Won’t know that until they are able to get in there. Pandas International, San Diego Zoo, and National Zoo are working towards getting relief efforts going, and they are asking other zoos and sanctuaries to help out. Also, Wells Fargo Bank in Phoenix, Arizona, is also setting up a donation account there to raise money for the relief effort for the Chinese people and the panda reserves. So, relief efforts here in the US have started on a grass roots level. The US government has also given China $500,000 in relief aid to start with and are also sending relief supplies to China. One thing that I can say about the Chinese government in their efforts is that they have shown some tenacity, willingness, and hard work in getting as many survivors out of the destruction as they possibly can get out before time runs out. They have done much better in helping their people than the Burmese government has done for their people that were badly affected after the cyclone hit a couple of weeks ago. Also, the dam in that region has been pretty much repaired by the Chinese troops to the point where a flooding disaster has been averted. When the rescuers are able to get someone out of the debris, they will cheer and celebrate that a life has been saved, then go to the next one that needs to be rescued. It’s a large scale effort that is going on there, and they have a very long haul in the rebuilding that will be going on long after the Beijing Olympics are over with in August. That will be a massive job ahead.
Ron, I hope that you will be able to get in touch with your friends and colleagues at Wolong, and finally get some solid news about how they and the pandas are really doing. Hopefully, they will all be safe, no injuries to them and the pandas. Keep hope alive, ok? Keep praying for China!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 15th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Hi again, Ron! Forgot to ask you about one thing–have you tried to get in touch with Jennifer Keating in Beijing at all over the last couple of days? Maybe she can help you out in trying to get in touch with Wolong. Please let us know what’s up with everything, ok? By the way, I’m also praying for you in that God will give you some comfort and peace while you are waiting for new info. Good luck!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 15th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Colleagues:
Our adopted Chinese daughter (age 11), 4 of her classmates, their teacher, and I spent 3 weeks in Wolong in July 2007. The kids worked at the preserve, and their teacher (native of Chong Qing) and I spent weeks with the local kids, and I walked through the surrounding areas on both sides of the river that runs through Wolong. I took hundreds of pictures of the school (the one off to the left of that ghastly road that ran through Wolong on the way to the preserve), the kids, and the people in the surrrounding communities. They treated me very warmly and openly, and I developed a deep regard for the integrity and ambition of their lives. I am heartsick at the devastation I am certain they suffered. My Mandarin skill is nearly nonexistent, but our beloved teacher has tried for 3 solid days to get through by phone or internet; she can find nothign. I am sure there is major damage to infrtastructure in the village of Wolong at at the hotel, and in the communities along that road. Please, if anyone hears anything reliable about the condition of that comunity and especially of that school, please e mail me. I am easy to find on the internet, though I gather I am not allowed to post my e mail here. If you want pictures of Wolong I shall try to post some. Thanks– John Rudoff, M. D., Portland, Oregon
May 15th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I’m praying for all our pandas (wild and captured) in China and all the good people in the midst of such tragedy. I have been sending emails to my friend at the zoo where Shi Shi is located, but have not received any word from him as to how much they were affected by the quake so I’m very worried about him and Shi Shi.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
My boyfriend works at the Wolong Panda Club (keeper of Hua Mei). I got an e-mail from his cousin this morning that might shed some light on the situation of the staff at Wolong. She heard that some heavily injured people from Wolong were sent to some hospital, so she went to check to see if Xiao Yi’s name was on the list of injured people. Fortunately, his name was not on there. She was able to talk to someone who claimed they came out of Wolong. She did not have a chance to ask if he was actually a member of Wolong Panda Club or not. The person stated that none of the staff for Wolong Panda Club were injured. I am just hoping that person was telling the truth.
If the earthquake really started at 2:28pm, I believe most staff would be out of their apartment complex (which are extremely extremely old… as you know, and I doubt much of it would withstand a 7.8 quake), because they start work at 2:30pm.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:17 am
i just returned from a short vacation at yosemite and just logged on for info. thank you all so much for the information. i have been so worried about the staff, their families and of course the pandas. the devastation just breaks my heart. thank you sdz for the info and please keep it comming. how can we all help? keep safe!
May 16th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Ron, I really feel for you - you are obviously really close to these people and the pandas. I can feel it in your writing. I think all of us here have been close to (or in) tears over this. All we can do is to hope and be as positive as we can. Hope you hear good news soon - and let us know too.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:56 am
I too survived the ‘89 quake in SF and my heart breaks that the wonderful staff, their families and the beloved Pandas have suffered that trauma. I pray our Black and White loves are safe and a special prayer for our San Diego babies there in Wolong. Thank you so much for sharing what information you do have.
Bobbie (now in AZ away from the shaky ground)
May 16th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Ron, thanks so much for the update. While it is wonderful that the pandas seem to have made it through safely, they are far from in the clear. I too got the Pandas Int. newsletter, and Suzanne Braden is fearful of bamboo supplies running low, with the devastation to the area.
Even though my money situation at the moment is tight, I had to make a donation to them, and specified that it go the the earthquake relief efforts. My heart aches for everyone affected by this nightmare, and I shall keep them all in my prayers, along with all the fine folks such as Mr. Swaisgood who have friends and loved ones that they are waiting to hear about. May the news, when it comes, be good! And may that dam be shored up and keep holding for many years to come…….
May 16th, 2008 at 6:06 am
I wonder if the pandas are chipped for tracking.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Ron, My heart hurts for you not knowing how your friends who are like family to you are, I don’t think anyone thought that such a beautiful mountain setting and the peaceful pandas along with all the people could be subjected to such devastation. My heart broke when I saw pictures of the schools that had collapsed and all the grieving parents, and in the past few days being reminded that the Chinese are only allowed one child.I know all of us especially mothers fell the pain. It may sound a little selfish but I am so glad that the pandas are well and that everything will be done to ensure their safety, even now with birthing season upon us. I hope all the staff in wolong is safe as are their families and Know that we are all praying for them. Has anyone heard from Scott who took care of Mei Sheng, Ron keep the faith because somehow you will get through this. I ask all my blog friends to take a minute today to think or say a little prayer for all the People in China and Asia who have suffered so dearly and be thankful for what we have.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Just read some latest news regarding Wolong pandas from a Chinese news agency. Sichuan forestry department is now attemping to ship some panda food into wolong including 1.5 tons of bamboos, 1 ton of apples, 1 ton of bamboo roots, and some medicines.
It is, however, not certain when the cargo can arrive in wolong due to treacherous road conditions.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Thank you Ron for sharing with us. As you know we have all been wondering what the state of Wolong was, and how all the pandas were…. (Hua Mei), and their caretakers as well. I hope you hear from them soon, and my heart goes out to the people of China after this very devistating disaster.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Hello.
a staff of the Chengdu panda base said they already send some food and medicine to the Wolong research center.
there is a latest news from their official webpage as well (/china/news/news_view.asp?newsid=174 , but in chinese)
thanks for all of your concerns.everything will be fine.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:03 am
If you look up National Geographic News website, they give some information on tourists, and WWF volunteers visiting Wolong, that are okay, except 2 that are unacounted for, and where some of the pandas were moved to. Phones are still down they say, and help is on it’s way via helicopter.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Times Online 5/16/2008 article “Pandas shielded from quake by armed guards” states Chengdu experts were able to reach Wolong with supplies:
This morning, panda experts were at last able to reach the reserve for the first time as one mountain road, over passes as high as 4,000 metres, was reopened. Bamboo, cornbread, apples and antibiotics were brought in for the pandas.
Zhang Zhihe, director of the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre, said: “The pandas are safe. Their keepers haven’t left them for one second since the earthquake.”
May 16th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Some eyewitness accounts from the British tourists who were with the Pandas at Wolong during the earthquake are now available online. There are two stories at Times Online that provide some information as to what was going on at the centre and a bit about the town itself. There were boulders and trees crashing down the mountainside and the bridge collapsed. One story details how the panda keepers fashioned a makeshift bridge out of bamboo ladders. Once all of the tourists were over the staff then carried the squirming cubs across one by one to take them to a safer area.
There is also mention of a shipment of biscuits, apples and antibiotics arriving.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Hi, you all! Just got on the website this morning to check on updates about the China quake. Have also been listening to CNN and also read a very recent news article on the MSNBC website. The death toll has gone up to 21,500 and could reach to over 50,000 once all the bodies have been found. There are still some miracle rescues of live survivors after 96 hours under the rubble. Unfortunately, there was another one of those “major” aftershocks in the 5.5 magnitude range that has caused more landslides and damaged more buildings that were on the brink from the original quake. I did read some of the recent comments about the pandas in the wild and at Wolong. Sounds like Chengdu Reserve, which apparently faired much better thru all of this, has been able to get supplies and panda food together to send to Wolong. Panda reserves helping other panda reserves in need–that’s super! Also, electricity has been restored to a fairly large portion of Sichuan Province but not in the hardest hit areas where the damage and destruction is so extensive that electric workers can’t even do anything until some of the large amounts of debris is removed. Phone lines have been restored to some areas, but service is still spotty at best. For some of you that might be interested in the geology of China, I read an article last nite about the Longmenshan Fault that was responsible for the 7.9 quake. This fault is 155 miles long, it buckled in 2 stages, tore itself up in 2 sections: one section at 7 meters (22 feet), the second section at 4 meters (13 feet). That’s a total of 35 feet of faultline that was ruptured in that earthquake. The quake lasted an estimated 2 minutes, and it was only 6 miles deep, and the aftershocks were at the same depth with over 50 of those at 4-6 magnitude according to the USGS website. China has hard, firm terrain that allowed the seismic waves to travel large distances without losing any of its power and punch. Now, because of the widespread destruction, a lot of people in the devastated areas, including parents of hundreds of school children that were killed, are very angry about the shoddy construction that was done when building the school buildings, as well as other buildings that have collapsed in the quake. This has contributed to the very large death toll, and now they will be trying to answer those questions. The Chinese government will have their engineers investigate the buildings for bad construction, and then find and punish the builders for their negligence. I know that after all of this, building codes will be much tougher in those earthquake zones. The newer buildings in other larger cities, including Beijing where the Olympics will be at, have already strengthened building codes to withstand earthquakes.
Still, the main concern now is for the Chinese people, their families, the panda reserves, and the pandas. Japan has finally gained entry into China with their rescue people, and Singapore is sending another 55 specialized rescue workers in soon. I think the Chinese government has finally realized that they will be needing more people from the outside to help out in order to give their own people some time to rest. These Chinese rescue workers, police, and military personnel have been hard at it for several hours in the last 4-5 days since the quake hit, and they deserve some time to get some rest and some food. Hopefully, China will allow in some of our US specialized rescue people in, and Panda International will be able to send in their people that will get into the reserves to really check them out and check out the pandas there. There really needs to be some field workers in there to get out into the wild areas to see where the wild pandas went to and have them checked out to see if they are ok. I liked the idea from one person about getting a wild panda to put a tracking collar on so that the researchers can track them better to see where pandas go to for food, shelter, and even when an earthquake hits. That will be very valuable info for everybody that works with pandas.
Well, that’s the latest from what I was reading today. If anyone else has any more news, let us know, ok? Ron, I hope you are still hanging in there and that you were able to get in touch with Jennifer Keating. I’m still waiting on some info from her to come in. Would love to read about how she handled this crazy situation! Jennifer, write to us ASAP!! Want to hear from you as well!
Gotta go! Gonna check the pandacam now.
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 16th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Sorry! My bad again! Went too long again! But had alot of info to share, as usual! Still love the pandas and still praying for China!!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
May 16th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I read that they took the cubs into a safe location in “town” of Wolong. Since the town was also badly damaged, I am surprised that they found anywhere safe to keep the cubs. Most of them are 7-10 months old now and growing quickly. Photos of 2006 Wolong cubs showed them inside a building in a group photo, so presumably they can be housed in dwelling in makeshift conditions. The biggest issue for both pandas and humans is food, water, and medical supplies at this point. All of them are no doubt exhausted and can sleep anywhere, but they must have food and clean water. That is hard to get when the roads are wiped out and landslides are an imminent danger due to aftershocks and heavy rains.
Thank you #22 Bareri for the update. We all hang on every word, and our hearts ache with Ron, not knowing the fate of his human or animal friends.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Times online for the latest story on how keepers helped baby pandas escape. Very touching…
When the earth settled, the visitors and panda keepers realised that the bridge that was their only escape had crumbled into the river that rushed along the bottom of the valley. The keepers quickly improvised a new crossing, lashing together bamboo ladders.
Once Ms Wong and her fellow British tourists had been helped across the bridge, the keepers returned to collect their precious charges.
“They carried the babies one by one over the bridge. You can imagine how difficult and dangerous it was to carry these squirming cubs with the river underneath. But they did it. And as soon as they were across, they just ran with each one to reach shelter.”
The nursery was no longer safe because of cracks in the building, so they placed the cubs in the wooden ticket booth that was undamaged. The entire booth, cubs inside, was then moved up the valley to a wider patch of flat ground where they would be in less danger from aftershock.
The adults, numbering more than 100, remained in their pens where they can live and play outside. Ms Wong, director of the Black Environment Network, an environmental and sustainable development group, said: “They are much easier to feed because they are able to eat bamboo so the keepers can throw in more leaves each day for them. But the babies are only about nine-months-old and are not yet weaned. They are all hand-fed.”
Two armed guards were deployed outside the ticket booth to protect these tiny national symbols in the isolated valley cut off from the outside world by landslides along approach roads.
This morning, panda experts were at last able to reach the reserve for the first time as one mountain road, over passes as high as 4,000 metres, was reopened. Bamboo, cornbread, apples and antibiotics were brought in for the pandas.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Thanks to Ron (and other people posting) for sharing your thoughts and feelings about the pandas and people of the Wolong area. I too have been googling constantly to try and find out what the situation is there, and what we can do to help out. I’m praying that the aftershocks will stop - it sounds like there was another big one today. The Canadian government has apparently pledged $1million dollars, and also agreed to match any donations made to private aid agencies like the Red Cross. I hope that all the donations will reach the worst hit areas as soon as possible.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:42 am
With all the tears and sadness theses last few days, I just remembered what one of the bloggers said. She had a dream that Mei Sheng was at the gate to the zoo with a suitcase in hand, and with the situation in China now, who knows maybe if they need the room for babies and such they would let him come home. Could that dream be a omen of things to come.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:44 am
A bit of good news…some of you have asked about Scott, Mei Sheng’s former keeper. I have been in contact with him and he is ok. He was not in Wolong when the earthquake struck. His family is ok, too, but their hometown is destroyed. I have no word on my other friends in Wolong.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Also from Times online.
China earthquake - the survivors’ tales
Judy Ling Wong was fulfilling a lifelong dream to cuddle a panda when the world exploded around her.
She was one of a group of 19 British tourists visiting the Wolong Panda Reserve, in Wenchuan county, where researchers are breeding the endangered animal in a narrow valley in the hills of China’s southwestern Sichuan province.
She had paid 2,000 yuan (£142) to have her photograph taken holding one of the babies at the reserve’s nursery. “I never got the second picture,” she said. Suddenly the ground shook and the group saw huge boulders falling down the slopes. At first the tourists did not understand what was happening.
With rocks sliding down the hill they thought they were seeing a landslide. Then they realized it was an earthquake — but it would be three days before they learnt that they had survived the deadliest tremor to strike China in 32 years.
Ms Wong was gripped with fear and shock. Then she took to her heels and ran. She and her companions raced over the rippling earth to try to reach the entrance to the reserve.
All around them the earth seemed to spin. She remembered the roar of thousands of tonnes of rock tumbling down. “The rocks were coming in all directions. They were flying over our heads.”
It seemed as if a huge wind was swirling through the reserve, whipping up dust, grit and shards of rock. Leaves flew through the air as dozens of trees crashed to the ground. “We were covered in dust and leaves. There was grit in our mouths. We didn’t know where to run because there were rocks everywhere.”
It felt as if the earthquake lasted three or four minutes, she said. Finally the earth stopped moving — at least for a time. The group was stunned. “We looked at each other and tried to comfort each other even though we didn’t know the others very well.
“It was a miracle that none of us was hurt. The rocks flew right over our heads. And none of had even a scratch.”
Maureen Baker, from Romford, Essex, was washing her hands in the bathroom at the reserve when the quake hit. She was convinced she was going to die. “All the floor was moving up and my husband was running towards me, panic-stricken. Rocks were falling, then we looked up and the mountain just seemed to explode.
“There were boulders coming down, the trees were getting chopped down the mountainside and we just ran into a panda bear enclosure. My husband shielded me and it all just came over the top of us. We thought we were going to be buried alive.”
As the dust began to settle Ms Wong — who was appointed OBE and is director of the Black Environment Network, an environmental and sustainable development group — scanned the hillsides, looking for trees left standing where fewer rocks had fallen. At the foot of those slopes could be the safest place to wait in case of more shocks.
But their dash to safety had taken them not even as far as the entrance to the reserve. The bridge over the river to the reserve had shattered and they were trapped on one bank.
The panda keepers came to their rescue, improvising a new bridge using bamboo ladders and, one by one, the visitors crawled over to reach their bus.
But this was only the start of their ordeal. Mobile phone masts were down, roads were destroyed, villages were flattened and heavy rain was falling. Mrs Baker said that as they sat on their coach, the level of a nearby river continued to rise. “Each day we’d look at this gorge and see it rising,” she told Sky News.
“At one point we thought, ‘we’ve survived the earthquake but we’re going to get flooded out’, because we also heard at the top of the hill there was a big lake that was fit to burst.”
After much debate it was decided that the safest place to be was the hotel where they were supposed to stay. It stood on a small plateau in one of the widest parts of the valley. Workers from nearby construction sites used their diggers to clear a path for the bus through the debris and landslides blocking the seven-kilometre route.
“It was really dangerous,” Ms Wong said. “If any falling rocks hit our bus it could have been the end.”
They inched their way up the valley until they finally reached the hotel, but the building was so badly damaged it had to be evacuated. The coach was to be their home for three nights. The first night was filled with fear as the group tried to doze in their seats. “But there were so many aftershocks. Each time we would all run out of the bus.”
Ms Wong tried to cheer herself up by taking walks. She talked — after a fashion — to some of the local villagers. “I would say something to them. They would say something to me. And we would smile a lot.”
They lived on thin rice porridge. Ms Wong said: “I felt like Oliver Twist.” Her heart soared when one villager offered her an egg.
A small army unit was based not far away and was helping local villagers who had survived but were homeless. But conditions began to deteriorate: bottled water began to run out, and there was only one little toilet serving hundreds of people. It was soon filthy and the group began to worry about illness.
After three nights Ms Wong had the second biggest shock of her life. “Suddenly a helicopter landed. We were told to leave everything but our passports and hand luggage and to run.” They dashed towards their rescuers, but were ordered to leave behind anything they were carrying and to board.
Lisa Staples, the daughter of Diane and David Atkins, two of the British tourists, recalled receiving a phone call from her mum.
“She said, ‘it’s me, we’re safe’,” Ms Staples, from Portsmouth, said. “She had to repeat it before I could take it in. She told me they were being airlifted out.” Her mother next phoned at about 6.45am yesterday from the four-star Minshan Hotel in Chengdu.
From his hotel room last night Mr Atkins, 64, a former postmaster, spoke of his relief at being safe. “We’ve had an awful experience. This is the first true sleep I will have had in three days.”
Mrs Atkins, 63, said she was astounded the Chinese authorities had been able to locate and rescue them. “I’m amazed that it all happened so quickly — because the devastation throughout China, in that area that we were in, is horrendous.”
For Tony Baker, thinking of his family had sustained him as he prayed for rescue: “It’s brilliant now. I can’t wait to see the children.” He knew he had been lucky. “There have been so many deaths. It’s terrible.”
May 16th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I’m so happy to hear that, not only is Scott ok, but his family is too. I’m sure that many of the other keepers have lost family members in this horrible tragedy.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I am reading news in Chinese. Chengdu Panda center is sending bamboo, medicine and food to Wolong panda base.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:45 am
where can I send money?
May 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
WolongNews thanks for sharing the British accounts. I did not get to them yet. I wonder if the area across the river where they took the cubs is the quarantine area that Mei Sheng was in that was also across a bridge over the river. If so, I was well built as I recall, new, and would have been a safe place for the precious help-less cubs. I love the comment that the keepers had not left the pandas for one second. They couldn’t because the pandas were helpless without human help, and if they had “escaped” into the wild it would have been even worse.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Ron - thank you SO much for taking the time write. There is nothing worse than the unknown. Hopefully as more and more information becomes available - whether good or bad - you will find some amount of peace. I’m sure you’ll be able to assess where to focus your energy to help your human and animal friends.
Let us know how we can help.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Thank you for taking the time to write about your friends, the pandas and the info you have been able to get to date. From all I have read and heard, it will be some time before we know about the actual status of Wolong, but it is clear they will need a lot of help to restore the center, care for the pandas and people. We want so much to help. Please let us know the best way to give them assistance.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Like so many others, I am relying on the San Diego Zoo website for reports on “our” pandas. My special buddy Mei Sheng is in my thoughts daily, along with his sister Hua Mei and her offspring. Thanks, Ron, for sharing your concerns with us. My husband and I are traveling to China in July. The safety of the Three Gorges dam is of considerable interest to us as we have booked a cruise on that section of the Yangtze, but I find myself thinking more about the pandas and their conservation workers than I do about the dam. The pandas certainly have captured many hearts, including my own.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Ron Swaisgood my heart aches for you, the people of China, the Visitors and most of all the Giant Pandas. There is not a day that goes by since the quakes that I do not think of them all, many times throughout the day.
If there is anything you hear of that is needed immediately for the Giant Pandas and the cubs please let me know. As a member of a small group that supports your pandas and the pandas across the other three US Zoo’s housing pandas, we will do our part unconditionally, without the blink of an eye.
Reach out to us, we are here. Our love for the Giant Pandas is very real. And our ability to join forces as one in our group is amazing in its own. Let me know if we can do anything to help.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
How are the four zoos caring for pandas here in the United States assisting the folks at Wolong?
May 16th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I have just read my latest Pandas International newsletter up-date.
Wolong needs help urgently. The army helicopters are dropping off food and supplies, but flights and fuel are now in short supply. Wolong is desperate for medicine supplies for both animal and human needs. Some vital emergency items have now been used up to treat injuries and stop bleeding, and give antibiotics where needed.
There has been another 5.6 AFTERSHOCK. They certainly seem to be going on it just doesn’t seem to want to stop.
Pandas International are asking for donations to help the pandas. If you go to their website you will be able to find the address and i think ways of making a tax free donation.
This seems to be getting more serious day by day. A lot more prayers and hope are needed.
May 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hi, everyone, I come from Chengdu, China and currently live in San Diego, CA. I am also concern about Giant Panda in Wolong after the quake (which is really heartbroken for us). I have been to Wolong before and visited the panda research center. It’s good news that all 86 pandas there are safe and sound. The cubs have been tranferred to a safer place (Shan Wan). I am so impressed that so many people around world care about panda in Sichuan and in China. Thank you very much.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
I think staff at the panda facility are able to contact their families using satellite phones now. Xiao Yi (Hua Mei’s keeper) contacted his parents and let them know that he’s safe. I don’t have details of the conversation, so I don’t know how the other staff are doing.
May 17th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Wolong News #42, I was rivetted to that account of the British tourists’ rescue, and their ordeal. I could imagine myself there, and it wasn’t nice.
Angie, thank you for letting us know about Scott and his family. Glad they are safe.
Rong #53, I hope any family or friends you may have in Chengdu are safe and well.
Despite being told the pandas are safe, I am still so worried.
May 17th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Thanks to all, especially those of you who have friends and relatives in the damaged region. Thank you, Ron, for letting us know more about your friends in Wolong, and Angie, and you, bareri for letting us know about Hua Mei’s keeper. If he is well, we can hope that Hua Mei is also.
Rose #45–I donated through Pandas International.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Ron, Thank you for your heartfelt comments about Wolong , it’s keepers and pandas..
I was at Wolong two summers ago and was assigned to “Boogie” , a young keeper, as my translator / volunteer mentor His wife is a vet there and they had a new little baby at that time. I spent lots of time talking to Hau Mei in English and helping with her twins. I am very worried. Any future news would be appreciated.
Thanks again,
Donald B.