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 | Monday, May 01, 2000, updated at 10:20(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Chinese Villagers Report Sighting of Rare PandaA group of villagers in China's Qinling mountains recently reported seeing a rare brown giant panda.Described by local experts as "strange, but most good-looking," the brown giant panda is the fourth to be spotted in the Foping National Nature Reserve. On the afternoon of April 26, ten residents of Sanguanmiao Village, located in the reserve, were planting corn in the nearby hills when the panda ran past them, said reserve worker Jiang Tiejun. The villagers quickly reported their sighting to the reserve officials, describing the giant panda as mostly reddish-brown with some white fur patches, and "strong and fat." Jiang said reserve workers went to the spot immediately and could hear the animal munching on bamboo in the woods. Yong Yange, a research fellow at the reserve, said the giant panda is the same color as one discovered by a group of researchers in the reserve in 1985, which was believed to be the first brown giant panda sighting ever reported to officials. A third brown giant panda was seen in 1991, said Yong, who has studied giant pandas for 30 years. The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species, with only an estimated 1,000 remaining in western China's mountains.
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