Pandas facing enforced diet in China's quake zone

BEIJING (AFP) — China's famed giant pandas are being forced to diet after last month's earthquake devastated large swathes of bamboo forest in the nation's southwest, state media and officials said.

The May 12 8.0-magnitude quake, which left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing, damaged bamboo forests in five areas close to a research base, sharply reducing supplies of the panda's staple food, Xinhua news agency said.

As a result, breeders are having to ration bamboo for the 67 endangered bears in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Sichuan province.

"In average times, each adult panda is provided with 40 to 50 kilograms (88 to 110 pounds) of bamboo a day," said Lan Jingchao, an official at the breeding base.

"But now we can only offer them slightly ...