Panda's trip to China postponed over SARS

Los Angeles - And this little giant panda didn't go anywhere. The San Diego Zoo for the time being will keep Hua Mei, the first giant panda born in the Western Hemisphere in a decade, because of the SARS outbreak, zoo officials have said, explaining why she will not be sent to China as planned.

The 3-year-old panda had been scheduled to leave in June for a wildlife preserve in China to fulfil the zoo's loan contract with the Chinese government, said zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo.

"China and (the San Diego Zoo) have jointly decided this is not the right time to send Hua Mei to China because of the risk (from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) to the people who would travel with her to China," Galindo said.

The team of handlers would have stayed for up to a few weeks to help the panda adjust to her new home, she said.

Zookeepers are not aware of any threat to the animal from the outbreak of SARS, which has no known cure and has claimed the lives of about 250 people worldwide.

About half of the world's cases of the flu-like SARS virus have occurred in China, where the illness originated. Chinese government statistics showed on Wednesday that 106 people have died and more than 2,305 have been infected.

The postponement is the second for Hua Mei's long-awaited trip to China, where she will be placed in a breeding program.

The San Diego Zoo has an agreement with China, which states that any cubs born from matings of loaned pandas must be returned to China after their third birthday.

Hua Mei was born August 21, 1999, the offspring of Bai Yun and Shi Shi, who has since returned to China. She was the first panda cub born in North America in the last decade to survive longer than four days, zoo officials said. In January, Shi Shi returned to China and was replaced by another wild-born panda, Gao Gao, who has since mated with Bai Yun. -- Reuters

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