Pandas facing disease, food shortages

时间：2007-11-16 08:22:35

（单词翻译:单击）

CHENGDU, Nov. 16 - This year's outbreak of contagious1 diseases among giant pandas has emphasized the need for more measures to ensure the bears' future safety, delegates to the 18th Annual Conference of the Chinese Committee of Breeding Techniques for the Giant Panda, have said.

 

Zhang Zhihe, the committee's chairman, said to avoid possible future outbreaks of highly infectious diseases, such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bird flu, it is critical to do more research on the supervision2, prevention and treatment of such conditions - as well as so far undiagnosed diseases - and establish an emergency response system.

 

Speaking at the five-day conference, which ended Thursday in the Sichuan provincial3 capital, Yang Xuyu, deputy chief of Sichuan Wildlife Management Station, said about 20 panda cubs4 are bred in captivity5 every year in China.

 

But if the bears live together in confined spaces, contagious diseases can quickly spread.

 

A delegate who asked not to be named said 10 pandas at the Wolong Nature Reserve this year became infected with a rare contagious disease from which two of them later died.

 

Vets6 from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where Zhang is based, worked with staff from Wolong to treat the sick pandas, but failed to diagnose the ailment7, he said.

 

Yang said that in an effort to prevent the spread of potentially fatal diseases, additional enclosures for the bears will be built at both Chengdu and Wolong.

 

The State Forestry8 Administration recently gave Wolong 20 million yuan ($2.7 million) to build 40 new dens9 some 20 km from its existing ones. The Chengdu base is currently considering possible sites for its new compounds, he said.

 

Yang also warned of the danger of bamboo flowering, which, since 2005, has expanded to an area of 24,000 hectares in Sichuan - about 1.4 percent of the edible10 bamboo in the province, he told China Daily.

 

Nine varieties of bamboo have been seen flowering, which account for about 30 percent of the varieties eaten by pandas.

 

In the 1980s, in the mountainous regions of Sichuan, extensive blossoming of the arrow bamboo - the pandas' favorite - led to many bears dying of disease and starvation, Yang said.

 

This year, to avoid a recurrence11, the Sichuan provincial forestry bureau has developed an emergency response plan and asked local forestry bureaux to implement12 it in the event of extensive blossoming.

 

Yang said that if 15 percent of the total bamboo area or 100 percent of a single variety is found to be flowering, all bears in that area will be inoculated13 and/or relocated to ensure their safety.

 

Often referred to as living fossils, giant pandas are found mainly in Sichuan, which is home to about 1,200 of them, or 76 percent of the country's total.

 

More than 80 officials and experts from animal protection organizations in eight countries attended this year's conference.

 
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1 contagious TZ0yl     
adj.传染性的，有感染力的
参考例句：
  • It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
  • He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。
2 supervision hr6wv     
n.监督，管理
参考例句：
  • The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
  • The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。
3 provincial Nt8ye     
adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人
参考例句：
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
  • Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
4 cubs 01d925a0dc25c0b909e51536316e8697     
n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
  • Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 captivity qrJzv     
n.囚禁；被俘；束缚
参考例句：
  • A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
  • He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。
6 vets 3e28450179d627638b3132ebb3ba0906     
abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗
参考例句：
  • I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
  • In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网
7 ailment IV8zf     
n.疾病，小病
参考例句：
  • I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
  • He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。
8 forestry 8iBxk     
n.森林学；林业
参考例句：
  • At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
  • Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。
9 dens 10262f677bcb72a856e3e1317093cf28     
n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋
参考例句：
  • Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
  • In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句
10 edible Uqdxx     
n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的
参考例句：
  • Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
  • This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。
11 recurrence ckazKP     
n.复发，反复，重现
参考例句：
  • More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
  • He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。
12 implement WcdzG     
n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行
参考例句：
  • Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
  • The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
13 inoculated 6f20d8c4f94d9061a1b3ff05ba9dcd4a     
v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • A pedigree pup should have been inoculated against serious diseases before it's sold. 纯种狗应该在出售前注射预防严重疾病的针。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Disease can be spread by dirty tools, insects, inoculated soil. 疾病也能由不干净的工具，昆虫，接种的土壤传播。 来自辞典例句

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