CHINA / Regional

Panda research center launches live Web cam
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-09 17:09

The Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province has set up a camera to capture the everyday life of pandas to be watched live on the Internet, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

"Panda Cam" will be aired in 20-minute segments from Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. (0200 GMT to 0250 GMT) and 2 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. (0600 GMT to 0650 GMT), Xinhua said.

The facility, set in the heart of Sichuan's lush, cloud-wreathed mountains, is home to about 80 artificially bred pandas.

The Web site has a section in English and a quiz on panda knowledge, Xinhua said.

About 1,600 wild pandas live in the mountain forests of central China, the only place in the world they are found, with another 180 in captivity around the globe.

Pandas are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and a low reproduction rate, making them among the most endangered in the world. Females in the wild typically have a cub once every two to three years.

 

 
 

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