On September 15, researchers with the Wolong Panda Protection
and Research Center in southwest China's Sichuan
Province and local armed police moved Xiangxiang, the first
penned panda to receive training in the wilderness, to a larger
training yard, where conditions are closer to the animal's natural
habitat. It indicates the beginning of China's ongoing project of
returning penned pandas to the wild. Experts predict that the first
penned panda will go back to nature in 2006.
In the future, China's panda protection will focus on training
in the wilderness. Through this project, scientists attempt to
increase pandas' ability for survival so as to make it possible for
them to return to nature. The whole project will cost several
hundred millions of yuan.
According to Huang Yan, senior engineer of the center, the
long-term penned life has made many pandas gradually lose their
wild nature. Usually, they lazily sit in the cages of zoos,
ignoring people's enthusiastic greetings and even showing little
interest in their favorite bamboo. "Putting Xiangxiang to the wild
training yard can reduce people's interference on him and help him
gradually adapt to the wild life," said Huang.
It is reported there are altogether more than 160 penned pandas
in the world. Many artificially-bred pandas have lost their wild
nature. It is even difficult for them to mate; only less than 10
percent of the male pandas can mate automatically and 24 percent of
the female pandas can get pregnant and give births to baby
pandas.
Zhang Hemin, director of the center, said: "After the past year's
experiment, Xiangxiang has learned how to survive by himself. His
wild nature has been fully exposed. He now has the awareness of
occupying a territory. Just like other wild pandas, he tries hard
to guard his own territory. He often roars towards or even attack
people who get into his territory. Meanwhile, he moves faster and
has stronger sense of directions and locations. The new training
yard is designed to meet his demand for food and a larger space for
activities."
"By 2006," Zhang continued, "Xiangxiang will grow up as a
standard panda in the wild. All his close contacts with human will
be cut off thoroughly. By then, he will become the first penned
panda capable of surviving independently in the wilderness."
(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, September 21, 2004)
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