American Notes WILDLIFE

In cultivating good relations with the U.S., China may have to stop playing the panda card. Last week the World Wildlife Fund and the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums filed suit in federal court in Washington to halt the shipment of two giant pandas from Shanghai to the Toledo Zoo. Experts contend that the endangered species' population has fallen below 1,000 and that the 100 pandas in captivity reproduce at a lower rate than those in the wild.

For currency-hungry China, the pandas are more popular ambassadors than Ping-Pong players. China rents out the animals for as much as $500,000 apiece for six months, while zoos rake in huge profits from increased attendance and souvenir sales. Says A.A.Z.P.A. Executive Director Robert Wagner: "If we don't watch what we're doing, we could love the giant panda into extinction in the next five years." Although Toledo will probably get its pandas, future short-term loans are in doubt.