California's San Diego Zoo will pay US$500,000 annually for the rent and research of a Chinese giant pandas, half the amount agreed upon in a 1996 contract between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA).

The CWCA said Wednesday the San Diego Zoo had been trying to negotiate a drop in recent years and a renewed contract would be signed Thursday.

The new contract will allow the San Diego Zoo to accommodate Baiyun and Gaogao for another five years.

The annual rent funds the restoration of the Wolong Nature Reserve, which was seriously damaged in the massive earthquake that struck southwest China on May 12.

Under the previous contract, the San Diego Zoo paid US$1 million a year per each adult panda.

The rent for each panda varies, an official with the Sate Forestry Administration of China said. Other zoos in the US might follow suit after the change, he added.

About 27 Chinese pandas are living in zoos of the US, Australia, Thailand and Spain, according to the Administration.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2008)