Pandas make debut in cooler north China

Two giant pandas that have been moved from southwest China's Sichuan Province to the northeastern Jilin Province in an attempt at expanding the animals' habitat made their public debut on Wednesday.

The pandas, an eight-year-old male and a seven-year-old female, went through a week-long quarantine and are in good health after settling into a new panda house at a Siberian tiger breeding base in the provincial capital of Changchun, said Wang Haijun, a spokesman with the base.

This is the farthest north a panda has resided in China for a long time. Due to its cold winters, the north is generally avoided as a habitat for pandas, which prefer the warmer Sichuan.

The two pandas were moved to Jilin from the Dujiangyan base of the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.

Under the care of two breeders and three vets, they will stay at the Jilin base for three years for both public viewing and scientific research.

The male weighs 105 kg and the female 98 kg. "They have good appetite. Every day, they eat 50 kg of bamboo transported from their hometown plus carrots, apples and biscuits specially made for them. They have adapted well to the new environment and climate," Wang said.

Their new home is a 900-square-meter building with an outdoor space covering 800 square meters.

Air conditioners, humidifiers, electric heaters and ultraviolet disinfection lamps are installed in the panda house to help the newcomers adjust to the local environment, according to Wang.

As of the end of 2013, China had 1,864 wild pandas and 375 in captivity, according to official census data released in February.

Explaining the decision to move the pandas to the far north, Wang Pengyan, chief engineer with the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, said pandas have successfully been raised at high latitudes in other countries including Scotland. Endi