The wild giant pandas living in the Piankou Nature
Reserve?-- the largest panda reserve in Mianyang, Sichuan
Province?-- are facing hunger this winter owing to the
rare blossoming of the arrow bamboo and the dieback that
follows.
Seventy percent of the bamboo, a primary component of the
pandas' diet, withers and dies after blooming. It takes
approximately 10 years for the new plants to mature.
The periodic mass flowering and subsequent dieback?are
unusual in the plant kingdom, but a natural phenomenon for bamboos
of all types.
"So far, in the Piankou Nature Reserve alone, all the arrow
bamboo growing at an altitude above 2,700 meters has blossomed,"
said Huang Lishuang, director of the reserve's administration
department. "According to the latest observations, the blossom area
is spreading down to the 2,500-meter level. Both areas are major
sources of the pandas' food."
The blossom zone now covers 20-25 percent of the panda
habitat.
Li Zuobin, chief of the Mianyang Municipal Bureau of Forestry's
Wildlife Protection Section, said that wild pandas in Mianyang
account for one-quarter of the total number in China. In addition
to providing safe habitat, Piankou Reserve is a corridor between
five different groups of pandas and is essential to preserving
genetic diversity in the species.
"Actually, the worst impact on the pandas is the isolation of
their living space." stressed Li.
Li said that the arrow bamboo was blossoming in several panda
habitat areas in two of the neighboring counties as well.
In two surveys conducted earlier this year, the main panda
activity area at Piankou was in the bamboo forest at an altitude of
2,600-3,200 meters. A recent check shows that most of the animals
have moved to an area below 2,700 meters, with only a small group
left alive at the higher elevations. However, it is believed that
as the bamboo continues to die back this winter, all the pandas
will be forced to continue moving to lower areas, and possibly even
out of the reserve.
"If that happens, the likelihood of injury to the pandas will
soar," predicted Huang Lishuang. Humans inhabit the areas adjoining
the reserve at the 1,600-meter level, which means the pandas are
exposed to diseases and accidental poisonings as well as reduced
food availability.
Experts say they cannot yet predict accurately just how severely
the bamboo dieback in such a large area will affect the panda
population.
The provincial Forestry Bureau has been encouraging local
residents to report any sightings of wild pandas, and bureau staff
regularly conduct patrols and surveys. They have now increased the
frequency of patrols from once a quarter to once a month, focusing
on the areas around the flowering bamboo.
If a sick or injured panda is found, a rescue team is dispatched
immediately. They will treat and release the animal if possible,
but if its condition is serious the animal will be captured and
sent to the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center or Chengdu Research
Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
"So far, we have not found any pandas suffering from hunger or
illness." Li said.
"The blossoming of the arrow bamboos will not lead to the
extinction of the giant panda," said Zhang Hemin, director of the
Wolong center. "This is a natural phenomenon."
Zhang explained that in the long run, this type of phenomenon
strengthens the species. Although the Piankou pandas are accustomed
to eating arrow bamboo, there are scores of other varieties that
are edible. The stronger animals will be able to adapt or travel to
new food sources, ultimately strengthening the genetic makeup of
their descendants.
Bamboo diebacks occurred in the Wolong center in 1983 and in the
Minshan Mountains in 1975. Many pandas were lost in the Minshan
Mountain dieback because several varieties of bamboo flowered
simultaneously, and also because many stands had been removed and
replaced by crops.
However, very few pandas were lost at Wolong in the 1980s, as
other varieties of bamboo were available and the animals simply
altered their eating habits.
Bamboo accounts for about 99 percent of the giant panda's diet.
The plant's nutritional content is low, so the panda must spend
about 57 percent of its day feeding in order to meet its
nutritional requirements. Under normal conditions, bamboo is
plentiful but large fluctuations in their food supply make them
vulnerable.
(China.org.cn; Shanghai Morning Post, translated by Li
Shen, December 16, 2004)