been seen since before the 1970s, it said. In December, a farmer told the Fengxian County Wildlife Management Station that he had spotted an animal that looked very much like a giant panda and had seen giant panda dung while collecting bamboo leaves on a local mountain. "Experts with the Shaanxi Provincial Wildlife Management Station ascribed the appearance of giant pandas in Fengxian county, located on the western section of Qinling Mountain, a major habitat for giant pandas, to the local government's strenuous efforts to restore and protect natural forest resources in the region over recent years." Xinhua said. Reuters