Forestry officials in China say they estimate that the powerful May12 earthquake destroyed or damaged more than 80 percent of the giantpanda's remaining habitat.
A senior forestry official told aHong Kong newspaper the "South China Morning Post" that abouttwo-thirds of the wild population is likely dead, injured or facingstarvation.
Last week, China's State Forestry Administrationhad said it lacked first-hand information about how the quake affectedthe endangered animals. Officials said landslides have made areaswhere they live too difficult and dangerous to reach.
About 1,600 of the animals remain in the wild, mostly in steep, bamboo-covered mountains in Sichuan province.
At least one captive panda from the Wolong nature reserve has already been found dead and another is missing.
Astrong earthquake in Sichuan province in the 1970s was followed bywidespread blossoming of bamboo - the giant panda's exclusive sourceof food. Bamboo dies after it flowers, so the animals suffered aserious food shortage.