BEIJING

 A wild giant panda was found cowering in a cave in a Chinese nature reserve Monday, after apparently being attacked by a group of animals from the weasel family.

Staff at the Tangjiahe Natural Reserve in Sichuan Province told state news agency Xinhua that the three-year-old had sustained severe injuries to its belly, exposing its intestines.

Chen Limin, an official at the natural reserve, said that the weasels - yellow-throated martens - probably caused the injury.

Following surgery, the panda was named Ping Ping - meaning peace and safety. It is now recovering.

Yellow-throated martens can grow to 70 centimeters in height and weigh between 1-5 kilograms, while giant pandas often reach 1.8 meters and can weigh up to 125 kilograms.

Whereas pandas - one of the world's most endangered species - primarily feast on bamboo, martens eat small animals and ground nesting birds.

British zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock, however, has claimed that groups of three to four have been known to attack humans.

Pandas are rarely attacked in the wild, however, according to Xinhua, in 2008 a panda at a zoo in southern China attacked a university student who had snuck into its pen hoping for a cuddle.

Scientists believe there are less than 2,000 giant pandas left in the wild in China. 

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