Norfolk zoo society donates to China quake relief effort

Posted to: News Norfolk

By Debbie Messina
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 18, 2008

NORFOLK

The Virginia Zoological Society, which raises funds for the Virginia Zoo, has made a $2,000 donation to the Giant Panda Conservation Foundation's Earthquake Relief Effort to support programs affected by the deadly earthquake in China's Sichuan Province.

The Wolong Breeding and Research Center, the world's most famous panda reserve, recently buried a 9-year-old female who was killed in a landslide triggered by the quake. Another panda, Xiao Xiao, is missing.

Forty-seven other pandas still live at Wolong, while others have been moved to Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu and Beijing.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has urged its members to support programs in China that conserve and manage panda populations.

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