Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Are China's pandas in jeopardy or recovering?

Depends on whether you believe a British newspaper or an American one.

Times Online:

Yan Xun, an official at the State Forestry Administration, said: “Their living environment is completely destroyed. Massive landslides and large-scale damage to forests triggered by last month’s earthquake are threatening the existence of wild pandas.”

Washington Post
:

Those efforts are working. The 47 giant pandas currently living here are regaining their appetites and returning to active play. The sound of a car or the shaking of an aftershock no longer sends them bolting in fright. Rather, Qing Qing is like many others as she grabs a handful of bamboo and flops onto her back to munch peacefully, belly to the sun.

I guess they don't have to be mutually exclusive, necessarily: pandas at Wolong are doing better, while those in the wild face very serious threats. Still, it's interesting to see how the headline writers -- i.e. editors -- chose to spin the two stories. The truth? Probably somewhere in the middle.

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