紐約時報 地震, 大熊貓, 遊客

CHENGDU, China — The birds suddenly disappeared from the sky. Something also was wrong with the pandas. They were strangely skittish. And then, within minutes, the isolated, verdant mountains above China』s most famous panda reserve exploded as if hit by a megaton bomb.

「The pandas were agitated and pacing,」 recalled Pamela Capito, 60, a member of a 12-person American tour group visiting the reserve. 「When the earthquake hit, we realized they had sensed it coming.」

If the pandas did sense approaching calamity, one reason is that the Wolong Nature Reserve sprawls over 772 square miles of rugged terrain directly beside the epicenter of Monday』s quake.

Foreign tourists evacuated to Chengdu by military helicopters described a horrifying disaster followed by a dangerous escape made possible by the kindness, and heroism, of panda keepers and other workers who helped save them, as well as 13 panda cubs.

「These keepers were risking their lives,」 said Walter Weber, one of three American tourists interviewed Friday morning before they flew to Shanghai. 「There was nothing safe about any of it.」

The fate of China』s pandas drew international concern from the moment Monday』s quake devastated the mountains of Sichuan Province. There are roughly 1,600 pandas living in the wild in China, most spread across 44 nature reserves in Sichuan. Long before the quake, researchers at Wolong had been placing hidden cameras throughout the reserve to monitor pandas in the wild. Now those scenes will be used to help assess the impact of the disaster. As yet, not a single panda is known to have died, a contrast to the human horror unfolding elsewhere in the mountains.

Lu Zhi, one of China』s leading panda experts, said researchers at the Sichuan reserves were combing the mountains in search of pandas while also trying to alleviate the greater human tragedy by delivering supplies to the remotest villages. At Wolong, she said, a senior security administrator died while taking part in rescue efforts.

Pandas are a major reason that Chengdu has become a tourist attraction and a departure point for excursions into the surrounding mountains. Taxis in the city are even affixed with panda decals. The group of 12 American tourists, traveling on a tour arranged by the World Wildlife Fund, had left Chengdu on the morning of the earthquake and driven to Wolong to spend the day.

「We were all really looking forward to it,」 said Ms. Capito, who lives in Lakeport, Calif.

The same morning, a British group of 19 tourists also was visiting the reserve, as well as a French couple traveling with the husband』s 78-year-old mother. Ms. Capito and some of the other Americans had paid extra to play with the baby pandas that morning, but administrators asked if they would mind delaying their turn. A Chinese corporate group, a benefactor of the reserve, had arrived early and hoped to use the morning time slot.

The Chinese group took the earlier session and then left by bus around 2 p.m. along the long, winding road back to Chengdu. 「That』s what is upsetting,」 said Teri Kopp of Seattle, who sobbed quietly as she recounted that morning. 「We don』t know what happened to that busload of people.」

The Americans were gathering for a lecture at the reserve』s panda breeding center when they noticed strange behavior by the animals. The birds that had been chirping in the bushes, or twirling in the skies overhead, were gone. There was almost no sound. The pandas seemed nervous. Then at 2:28, the earthquake hit.

「For me, what was terrifying was when the top of the cliffs started exploding,」 Ms. Kopp said. 「All the boulders started coming down. The staff at the reserve was wonderful. They were yelling at us to get under some structure.」

The steep mountains looming over the breeding center were collapsing in landslides as strong aftershocks rippled through the valley. 「These rocks were just flying in the air,」 Mr. Weber said. 「A few of the rocks were the size of Volkswagens.」

The aftershocks finally halted, and the people at the reserve soon realized they were trapped. Boulders blocked the path leading to a bridge that linked the breeding center to the road to Wolong village. A new path was needed: The Frenchman, three Americans, a tour guide and the panda keepers created a route by climbing over cages, stepping carefully along the top of a wall high above a river and rigging a ladder up to the bridge. It was a precarious, rain-slicked solution.

One by one, everyone carefully moved forward. One of the Americans was a 79-year-old Californian traveling with a friend. 「It was very scary,」 Ms. Capito said. When the last person had made it to the bridge and out to the road, the staff raced back for the baby pandas. They carried the cubs tucked under their arms as they slowly edged forward above the river and then up the ladder.

All 13 cubs were saved. They were put inside a small ticket booth, a home that kept them from escaping, if not happy. 「You could hear them,」 Ms. Capito said. 「They were just tearing the place apart. And when they let them out, they would just romp and play. Not one got killed. I couldn』t believe it.」

In a few hours, a path had been cleared along the road so that everyone could be taken to Wolong village. The hotel there was badly damaged, so the Americans slept in one tour bus and the British in another. 「Everybody was great,」 Ms. Kopp said. 「The Brits were great. The British women would clean the bathrooms every day. They did their laundry in a stream and hung it on trees.」

Food was limited. Hotel workers provided two daily bowls of watery rice soup for the tourists, hotel staff and others. A few men navigated the damaged road and bought rice cakes and dried plums at a small store. Everyone else emptied out backpacks of raisins and other snacks.

「We got a rice cake for breakfast, a few raisins and a few nuts,」 Ms. Capito recalled. Eventually, hotel workers had cleared debris out of the kitchen and tiny chunks of pork sausage began to appear in the bowls of rice soup.

The first sign of help came Tuesday. A military helicopter dropped a food shipment but aimed poorly and most of the supplies were destroyed. Hours later, a helicopter returned to collect the injured. 「A soldier ran out with a very limp child in his arms,」 Ms. Capito said.

The rains cleared on Wednesday but the aftershocks continued. The shaking would set off more landslides as everyone watched and worried.

Then, on Thursday morning, two helicopters returned. This time they were collecting the foreigners. 「Nobody had a clue we were getting out,」 Ms. Capito said. They had 10 minutes to gather their belongs and jump in.

Mr. Weber recalled the enormous damage he saw as the helicopters roared out of the mountains toward Chengdu. Every mountainside was scarred with landslide. The road leading into Wolong was destroyed and littered with wrecked cars — and also people slowly making their way out.

「We could see people walking on the road below,」 he recalled. 「But they were trapped between landslides.」

Ms. Capito remembered a mix of emotions when the helicopters roared away from Wolong: excitement over getting out and guilt and sadness over those left behind. Her husband had died three years ago and she knew the pain of loss.

「I knew I was going to be able to leave and go home to my comfortable house and to food,」 she said. 「I looked back and saw hundreds of villagers. I was just sobbing. I couldn』t believe I was so fortunate.

「And those poor people were being left behind and they had lost their families and their homes.」

我用Google Translate 作的直譯


成都，中國-鳥兒突然消失，從天空的。一些還是錯誤的，與大熊貓。他們很奇怪skittish 。然後，幾分鐘內，孤立的，山蔥蘢，上述中國最著名的熊貓儲備爆炸，如果擊中一兆噸炸彈。

「大熊貓激動和起搏， 」回顧尤德夫卡皮托， 60歲，成員12人的美國旅遊團來訪的儲備。 「當地震，我們意識到，他們已感覺到它來了」 。

如果大熊貓沒有意識，臨近的災難，原因之一是認為卧龍自然保護區sprawls超過772平方英里的崎嶇地形，直接旁邊的震中周一的地震。

外國遊客疏散到成都，由軍用直升機，描述了可怕的災難其次是一個危險的逃生可能由愛心，和英雄主義，熊貓飼養和其他工人，誰幫助營救他們，以及13個大熊貓幼仔。

「這些飼養人冒著生命危險，說： 」沃爾特韋伯，其中3名美國遊客的採訪，周五上午之前，他們飛抵上海。 「有沒有安全有關的任何資訊科技」 。

的命運，中國的大熊貓引起國際關注的時刻，從周一的地震摧毀了山，四川。有大約1600年的大熊貓生活在野外的在中國，大多數分佈在44個自然保護區，在四川。前不久地震，研究人員在卧龍自然保護區已被隱藏的攝影機，把整個儲備，以監察大熊貓在野外的。現在，這些場景將被用於幫助評估影響的災害。迄今為止，沒有一個單一的大熊貓是眾所周知的已經死亡，一對比，以人類的恐怖，開展其他地方在山中。

盧志，中國的一個領先的大熊貓專家說，研究人員在四川儲備精梳山在搜索大熊貓的同時，也試圖以紓緩更大的人間悲劇，提供用品到邊遠的村莊。卧龍自然保護區的，她說，一名高級安全管理員死亡，而採取的一部分，在救援工作。

大熊貓是主要的原因，成都已經成為一個旅遊景點和出發點遠足到周圍的山區。計程車在城市，甚至貼有大熊貓標誌。該集團12美國遊客，旅遊對旅遊安排，由世界野生動物基金，已離開成都，於當天上午的地震和驅車前往卧龍花天。

「我們都非常期待，說： 」女士卡皮托，誰住在萊克波特，加州

同日上午，一個英國小組， 19日的遊客也被來訪的儲備，以及作為一個法國夫婦旅遊與丈夫的78歲的老母親。卡皮托女士和其他一些美國人曾支付額外的發揮與嬰兒的大熊貓今天上午，但管理員詢問，如果他們願意記住拖延之交。中國的企業集團，恩人的儲備，已抵達年初，並希望利用今天上午的時段。

這家中國集團採取了先前的會議上，然後留下的巴士下午2時左右沿長，蜿蜒的道路回到成都。 「這是什麼鐓，說： 」泰莉• kopp西雅圖，誰sobbed悄悄地為她回憶說，上午。 「我們不知道到底發生了什麼該busload的人」 。

美國人聚集在演講儲備的熊貓繁殖中心，當他們看到奇怪的行為，由動物。鳥類已啁啾在草叢，或twirling在天空的開銷，沒有了。有幾乎沒有健全的。大熊貓似乎緊張。然後在2點28分，地震。

「對我來說，是什麼可怕的是，當上方的懸崖上開始發生爆炸， 」女士kopp說。 「所有的石塊開始回落。工作人員的儲備十分精彩。他們大喊大叫，在我們獲得一些結構「 。

陡峭的山脈籠罩育種中心倒塌在滑坡，作為強餘震波及通過山谷。 「這些岩石只是飛行在空中， 」韋伯先生說。 「數的岩石大小大眾汽車」 。

餘震終於停止，和人民的儲備，儘快實現他們被困。巨石阻斷道路，導致了橋樑聯繫起來，育種中心，以道路卧龍村。一條新路，需要：法國人， 3名美國人，一名導遊和熊貓飼養創造了路線，攀登超過鐵籠，加強仔細沿上方的牆上高以上的河流和操縱的階梯最多的橋樑。這是一個很不穩定，雨 slicked的解決辦法。

一個又一個，每個人都仔細地向前發展。其中一個美國人是一個79歲的美國加州旅行的朋友。 「這是非常可怕的， 」卡皮托女士說。當最後一人取得了它的橋樑和向道，工作人員爭分奪秒回嬰兒大熊貓。他們進行的小熊藏下，他們的武器，因為他們慢慢微升提出上述河，然後了階梯。

所有13個小熊被保存。他們提出了內一個小售票處，一個家一直在他們逃走，如果不是快樂。 「你能聽到他們， 」卡皮托女士說。 「他們只是撕裂的地方，除了。當他們，讓他們出來，他們只會romp和發揮。沒有一個得到死亡。我簡直無法相信它「 。

在幾個小時后，道路已清理公路沿線，使每個人都可以採取的卧龍村。酒店有嚴重損壞，所以美國人睡在一旅遊巴士和英國在另一個。 「每個人都被巨大的， 」女士kopp說。 「英國人是偉大的。英國婦女將清潔的浴室，每天。他們沒有自己的洗衣房，在流及紅，這對樹木「 。

食物是有限的。酒店的工人提供每天2碗水米粥為遊客，酒店工作人員和其他人員。數男子導航損壞的道路和買糕點和乾果梅子在一個小商店。否則，每個人都掏空了背包的葡萄乾和其他零食。

「我們有年糕吃早餐，有幾個葡萄乾和一些堅果， 」卡皮托女士回憶說。最終，酒店工人清理碎片走出廚房和微小的大塊豬肉，香腸開始出現，在碗飯湯。

第一個跡象，幫助來到周二。一架軍用直升機投下的食物裝運，但旨在不善而大部分的用品被摧毀。小時后， 1架直升機返回搜集受傷。 「一名士兵失控，一個很蹣跚的孩子在他的手臂， 」卡皮托女士說。

降雨清理對周三，但餘震仍在繼續。振動會引發更多的滑坡，大家都注視和擔心。

然後，在周四上午，兩架直升機返回。這個時候，他們收集的外國人。 「沒有人有一個線索，我們失控， 」卡皮托女士說。他們10分鐘，收集他們屬於和跳轉英寸

韋伯先生回顧了巨大的損失，他看到由於直升機轟鳴，走出山林，對成都。每一個山坡上的疤痕是與滑坡。通往到卧龍保護區被摧毀，充斥著破壞車-和人民也慢慢地使他們的出路。

「我們可以看到，人走在道路下面， 」他回憶。 「但他們被困之間的滑坡」 。

卡皮托女士記得，混合的情緒時，直升機的轟鳴，遠離卧龍：興奮超過失控和內疚和悲傷，那些留在後面。她的丈夫已經死亡3年前，她知道的痛苦損失。

「我知道我是要能夠離開，回家我舒適的房子和食物， 」她說。 「我回頭看，看到數以百計的村民。我只是哭泣。我無法相信我是這麼幸運了。

「和那些可憐的人被留下來和他們失去了他們的家屬和他們的家園」 。

看來這人工智慧還需要改進啊