A giant panda which went missing from a major panda base in southwest China's Sichuan Province after the May 12 earthquake was captured at 11:20 AM on Monday.

The panda, named Xi Xi, was found in the woods about 200 meters downstream of a river near China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong. It was then anesthetized and caged back to the center, staff with the center said on Monday.

The protected animal was spotted alive on Sunday by a river from the Wolong center, but it disappeared in the woods before the center staff crossed the river.

A total of six pandas in the Wolong center disappeared after the quake, but four later returned. Another was still missing.

Pandas at the Wolong nature reserve are facing food shortage when the quake, continuous aftershocks and subsequent landslides damaged mountain roads.

Eight pandas were airlifted to a zoo in Beijing on Saturday, and another six have been taken to the Ya'an base which was less affected by the earthquake.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2008)