"It is a positive message, it’s not all gloom and doom," said James Ayala, a researcher at the base, in Sichuan province. "But I still think it is too early to consider it a true success... we’re not in the clear yet. "Each time this happens, the population is extremely vulnerable because the pandas can’t find any food," said Ayala.The Chengdu facility was itself set up after around 250 giant pandas starved to death in the mountains of Sichuan in the 1970s and 80s, when he said that "researchers found pandas emaciated, walking like zombies". "The priority should always be to focus on improving the habitat for the wild animals and expand it," said Ayala. "If we don’t do this, then there is no point in conserving the giant panda.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 13, 2016 03:33 UTC