The panda population in northwest China's Shaanxi Province is higher than expected, latest surveys suggest.

But the investigation found there was also bad news about China's best-loved animal.

Landslides, forest fires and the effects of development do more harm to the endangered animals, Jin said.

"Cutting down trees and road construction are the major causes of decreasing the size of habitats for pandas living outside panda protection zones," Jin Xuelin, an official with the Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Bureau, said.

"Even inside the zones, tourism can disturb them."

Panda areas have been split into six blocks running from east to west along the Qinling Mountains, cutting their activity range, the official said.

In all, 273 adult giant pandas have been verified as living in Shaanxi, 30 more than had been thought.

It is the third panda survey in this northwestern inland province, and the investigation covered five panda natural protection zones in 10 counties of four cities in Shaanxi, said Jin.

The five-year long investigation shows that pandas are now living in 20 townships in eight counties - Zhouzhi, Taibai, Liuba, Ningqiang, Chenggu, Yangxian, Foping and Ningshan. It is the first time they have been recorded in Chenggu, Liuba and Ningqiang.

"Pandas live along the Qinling Mountains range in southern Shaanxi. They are in a further 13 kilometers north of the original northern boundary on the northern slopes of the mountain," the provincial forestry official said.

Panda home

The area home to pandas has increased from 113,454 hectares to 347,864 hectares since the second investigation. "It looks like the number of wild pandas has increased steadily," the official said.

The investigation has also shown that there is plenty of bamboo, the panda's food of choice, covering these areas.

The investigation has attracted attention from the local government, which is drawing up better measures to protect the habitats of the giant pandas, the official said.

(China Daily August 11, 2004)