Following the finding of a rare brown giant panda in China, a white brown giant panda was also discovered recently in Foping County of Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province. The species is the first of its kind ever found in the country.

Researchers from the Wildlife Research Department of the State Nature Reserve Administration based in Foping County recently found a newly-born baby panda in a 2.5-meter-deep cave on a 1,613 meter high mountain, the Xi'an Evening Post reported. When conducting an after-disaster eco-environmental survey for giant pandas, the researchers found the mother panda and its baby in the cave. The 25-cm-long baby panda had not yet opened its eyes, and was suckling in the mother panda's arms.

Later, they saw a male giant panda walking towards the cave. Its figure and features were different from other giant pandas since the color of the fur on its belly and waist were whitish brown. Such species of the giant panda, with neither black-and-white coloring, nor wholly brown, have never been seen before.

(china.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting, October 30, 2002)