Sick wild panda rescued in Southwest China

CHENGDU -- A panda suffering a rib fracture and stomach dysfunction has been rescued from the wild, according to the publicity department of Meishan city in Sichuan province.

Standing 1.3 meters tall, the female panda aged between 16 and 20 was found curled up in a bamboo forest in a village of Wawushan Township on Thursday.

"My family members heard a noise from the bamboo forest. I came to check what happened and found the panda," said Li Wanfang, the villager who first discovered the sick panda.

Staff from Wawushan Nature Reserve and forest police rushed to the site immediately.

"She looked like she was in pain, though there were no obvious scars on her body," said Yang Chun, director with the reserve's management bureau.

They set up a shed for the panda to protect against the wind and rain before veterinarians from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding arrived.

"The panda looked a bit emaciated. It's possible she didn't eat for days. She was infected with parasites," said Yang Zhi, a Chengdu-based panda veterinarian.

On Thursday night, she received antiseptic and anti-inflammatory drugs and electrolyte water. After that, the panda was taken to the Chengdu base for further treatment.

According to China's State Forestry Administration, as of the end of 2013, there were fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the wild, mainly in the mountains of the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.