Two giant pandas find new home in NE China

A Siberian tiger breeding base in northeast China's Jilin Province will welcome two giant pandas on July 1, according to local forestry authorities.

The pair, an eight-year-old male and a seven-year-old female, will settle in a nearly-finished panda house at the base for three years for both public viewing and scientific research, Wang Wei, deputy director of the provincial forestry department, told Xinhua on Thursday.

It will be the farthest north a panda has resided for a long period in China, a region usually avoided due to its colder temperature, with the species preferring warmer habitats in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to Wang.

The pandas hail from China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, which is responsible for training the pandas' breeders in their new home and helping decide their diet and medical plan, said Yu Changchun with the wildlife protection bureau of the forestry department.

One or two breeders will be designated for each panda and a work team has been set up to handle emergencies.

The new comers will live in a 900-square-meter house, with its subsidiary facilities, such as a playground and a square, covering another 4,800 square meters. The project cost about 14 million yuan (about 2.25 million U.S. dollars).

A national survey released in February showed that by the end of 2013, China had 1,864 wild pandas and 375 others were kept in captivity. Endi