China panda population stable despite Sichuan quake: report

8220;The panda has a strong capacity to adapt,we have not found any cases of pandas dying because of the earthquake,8221; the paper quoted Yang Xuyu,an expert involved with the survey,as saying.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake was the strongest to hit China in decades and left more than 87,000 people dead or missing,while devastating cities and towns.

Remote sensing of the region found that only about three percent of the panda8217;s habitat in south-western Sichuan province was damaged to differing degrees by the quake,the report said.

However,in an area near the epicentre where 35 wild pandas live,more than 37 per cent of the habitat was damaged,including significant areas of bamboo forests,the animal8217;s main food,the report said.

The damage could threaten the survivability of the group of pandas collectively known as Minshan Zone Group B,the report said.