"We always pat them gently, talk with them in the Sichuan dialect and maintain eye contact so it could be easier for them to adapt when transplanted into a new residence," said Wu Daifu, one of the four center keepers who accompanied the pandas to Beijing.

The keepers, who sleep in the same building with the pandas, will take care of them during their stay in Beijing.

"To keep a close eye on their activities at night, we take shifts to monitor them through video cameras," Wu said.

The Wolong base sustained severe damage from the powerful quake. Five staff at the base were killed.

Two pandas were injured and six went missing, of which five have been found.

"It's unknown whether the quake would have an adverse effect on the pandas' breeding," said Wang Pengyan, vice director of the base. "We have been collecting information about the pandas since the disaster."

Wang said the base would not move out of Wolong despite the damage.

"The biggest problem we encountered is that the critical infrastructure was destroyed and it would need some time for rebuilding."

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2008)