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December 16, 2004: China pandas face food shortage
December 23, 2002: Underfed pandas given energy biscuits
December 16, 2004: China pandas face food shortage
Giant pandas in parts of southern China are facing food shortages because a favourite staple - arrow bamboo - is blossoming and therefore inedible.
The official Xinhua news agency said that the plant normally takes a decade to complete the blossoming process.
The agency said it left 19 pandas at the Piankou Nature Reserve in south-west China at risk. It quoted Li Zuobin, a wildlife specialist in the region, as saying the situation was "very serious". "Giant pandas in serious condition will be rushed to two neighbouring giant panda research and breeding areas," he was quoted as saying.
Zhang Heping, director of another panda reserve in south-western China - Wolong Nature Reserve - said that while the strong pandas will probably survive, the weaker ones may die.
From BBC News
December 23, 2002: Underfed pandas given energy biscuits
China's endangered giant pandas are now dining on nutritious gourmet biscuits.
The animals' regular bamboo diet is simply not good enough, according to Chinese researchers.
They have begun to produce delicious, vitamin-packed panda biscuits.
The giant pandas already have a lot to worry about - from poaching to the destruction of their natural habitat, and breeding problems.
Now scientists say the animals are not eating properly.
They are not getting enough vitamins, minerals or fibre, and suffer from malnutrition as a result.
The new biscuits are high in all three - and to avoid confusing the pandas, they come in bamboo-like shapes.
The pandas find the biscuits "very tasty", scientists say.
Stimulating appetites
There are only 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild.
At the Panda Breeding Centre in Sichuan Province, researchers are scrambling to boost the animal's population.
But pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity - and are said to have a low libido.
Scientists have tried everything from Viagra to sex education videos.
Now at least, the remaining pandas will enjoy a balanced diet.
But the hunting and logging continues, and their numbers are dwindling.
From BBC News, Holly Williams