Camp Panda (Master)

It is black and white and fluffy and fuzzy, and it walks upright, unassisted—which is odd for a teddy bear of any species or size.

Pandas In Peril

Deep in the forest, high in the mountains—amidst the evergreens, the firs, the spruces—sits a giant panda.

She’s plopped herself on the forest floor, and she munches bamboo shoot after bamboo shoot.

She chomps on bamboo sixteen hours a day, every day.

There are typically only two reasons why a female panda would stop the bamboo eat-a-thon: if she were giving birth or tending to her new cub.

A newborn panda cub is exceptionally fragile: weighing only four ounces, blind, hairless, unable to walk (or crawl or scoot), unable to feed itself, and, somewhat surprisingly, unable to poop by itself (which can prove deadly).

A giant panda in the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China.

The iconic round face of the panda is not chubbiness; it’s due to massive cheek muscles.

A mama panda with her eighteen-day-old cub at Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou.

Eventually, though, she secures her newborn in the den and heads back to the bamboo thicket to feast—crucial for her own survival as well as her cub’s.

Eventually, though, she secures her newborn in the den and heads back to the bamboo thicket to feast—crucial for her own survival as well as her cub’s.

Resting on the forest floor, surrounded by her main food source, and munching contentedly, she is completely unaware of the precarious situation she is in—that her whole species is in.

She is unaware of just how few pandas are left in the world, unaware that the giant panda—so rare and beautiful and beloved—is vulnerable.

Vulnerable, and at risk of becoming extinct in the wild.

Pandas have evolved to eat a very special diet—almost exclusively bamboo.

Because of bamboo’s low nutrient value, a panda must eat between twenty and forty pounds a day, even in winter, to gain the nutrition it needs.

(This explains why the panda bear doesn’t hibernate.)

The problem with this diet (aside from being difficult to digest) is that bamboo plants have periodic massive flowering periods—followed by massive die-offs.

When these die-offs occur, the pandas’ source of food in an area completely and instantly disappears—putting the pandas in grave danger if they cannot locate more bamboo within their habitat.

When these die-offs occur, the pandas’ source of food in an area completely and instantly disappears—putting the pandas in grave danger if they cannot locate more bamboo within their habitat.

Pandas particularly like the umbrella, arrow, and golden bamboo varieties.

“Pandas are in peril because of humans! We caused the problem, so we have a responsibility to help fix it,” exclaims Suzanne Braden, who, after visiting China and the Wolong Nature Reserve, was so moved by the plight of the panda that, when she returned to the United States, she cofounded the nonprofit Pandas International to help save the magnificent species.

“Pandas are in peril because of humans! We caused the problem, so we have a responsibility to help fix it,” exclaims Suzanne Braden, who, after visiting China and the Wolong Nature Reserve, was so moved by the plight of the panda that, when she returned to the United States, she cofounded the nonprofit Pandas International to help save the magnificent species.

Roughly a thousand years ago, an estimated twenty-three thousand pandas roamed wild and free through many thousands of miles of pristine, tranquil habitat in their native China—cool, moist forests of mixed broadleaf trees, with plenty of canopy coverage and an abundance of bamboo.

Roughly a thousand years ago, an estimated twenty-three thousand pandas roamed wild and free through many thousands of miles of pristine, tranquil habitat in their native China—cool, moist forests of mixed broadleaf trees, with plenty of canopy coverage and an abundance of bamboo.

Roughly a thousand years ago, an estimated twenty-three thousand pandas roamed wild and free through many thousands of miles of pristine, tranquil habitat in their native China—cool, moist forests of mixed broadleaf trees, with plenty of canopy coverage and an abundance of bamboo.

Roughly a thousand years ago, an estimated twenty-three thousand pandas roamed wild and free through many thousands of miles of pristine, tranquil habitat in their native China—cool, moist forests of mixed broadleaf trees, with plenty of canopy coverage and an abundance of bamboo.

This was a direct result of the growth of agriculture and industrialization, and an unprecedented growth—more of an explosion, actually—in the human population.

This was a direct result of the growth of agriculture and industrialization, and an unprecedented growth—more of an explosion, actually—in the human population.

More agriculture meant more and more land was needed for planting crops and raising livestock.

And infrastructure projects meant using more and more land to build roads, railways, bridges, and dams.

Huge swaths of forest were logged and cleared out, obliterating vast areas and rendering them unsuitable for panda habitat.

Huge swaths of forest were logged and cleared out, obliterating vast areas and rendering them unsuitable for panda habitat.

It must have been a terrifying time for the pandas: chop chop chop, whoo whoo!, beep beep—a cacophony of noise and chaos encroaching on their homes, destroying their food, their shelter...sending them scampering away to unfamiliar lands, higher and higher in the mountains.

It must have been a terrifying time for the pandas: chop chop chop, whoo whoo!, beep beep—a cacophony of noise and chaos encroaching on their homes, destroying their food, their shelter...sending them scampering away to unfamiliar lands, higher and higher in the mountains.

It must have been a terrifying time for the pandas: chop chop chop, whoo whoo!, beep beep—a cacophony of noise and chaos encroaching on their homes, destroying their food, their shelter...sending them scampering away to unfamiliar lands, higher and higher in the mountains.

For pandas here, as well as those in other reserves and in captivity, keepers are often able to distinguish one animal from another by the shape and size of their black eye patches; they all vary slightly.

Not only were pandas put at risk primarily due to habitat destruction and habitat encroachment by humans, but they were also shot and killed by humans: by trophy hunters (before hunting pandas was banned), by poachers (illegally killing pandas anyway, usually for their fur), and by local villagers protecting their livestock.

Not only were pandas put at risk primarily due to habitat destruction and habitat encroachment by humans, but they were also shot and killed by humans: by trophy hunters (before hunting pandas was banned), by poachers (illegally killing pandas anyway, usually for their fur), and by local villagers protecting their livestock.

By 1990, they were officially declared an endangered species.

The oohing and aahing people express toward the inky-eyed panda have made the bear not only an international sensation—but the de facto symbol of China itself.

It appears that the Chinese government is thoroughly committed to protecting its black-and-white crown jewel.

So far, Suzanne Braden reports, poaching has been nearly eliminated—thanks to extreme penalties that can include up to ten years behind bars.

Sixty-seven nature reserves have been designated as protected panda habitats (although habitat fragmentation—the segmenting of one large area into smaller, isolated pockets—remains a huge problem).

Sixty-seven nature reserves have been designated as protected panda habitats (although habitat fragmentation—the segmenting of one large area into smaller, isolated pockets—remains a huge problem).

And a robust captive breeding program in China helps ensure a growing panda population.

And now, to further the panda conservation efforts, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) is working on a comprehensive three-stage program to reintroduce pandas into the wild—a program that often involves scientists dressed as giant panda teddy bears.

And now, to further the panda conservation efforts, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) is working on a comprehensive three-stage program to reintroduce pandas into the wild—a program that often involves scientists dressed as giant panda teddy bears.

And now, to further the panda conservation efforts, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) is working on a comprehensive three-stage program to reintroduce pandas into the wild—a program that often involves scientists dressed as giant panda teddy bears.

The ultimate goal of any reintroduction program is to create a self-sustaining population in the wild—a species that can survive and breed completely on its own, with no human intervention.

Critical in this survival equation is genetic diversity (the variation in the amount of genetic information within a species).

Critical in this survival equation is genetic diversity (the variation in the amount of genetic information within a species).

Critical in this survival equation is genetic diversity (the variation in the amount of genetic information within a species).

Critical in this survival equation is genetic diversity (the variation in the amount of genetic information within a species).

It is the key to species adaptability and to healthy populations—providing the greatest chance for species survival when faced with external, environmental changes.

“There has been an exponential growth in reintroductions because the science and management actions have matured so much that they are frequently successful,” explains Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager, the chair of IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Reintroduction Specialist Group and the director of conservation and science at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada.

“There has been an exponential growth in reintroductions because the science and management actions have matured so much that they are frequently successful,” explains Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager, the chair of IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Reintroduction Specialist Group and the director of conservation and science at the Calgary Zoo in Alberta, Canada.

“And secondly,” Axel continues, “in many situations, the level of desperation keeps increasing. Often, if other conservation techniques are not able to prevent extinction on their own, reintroductions are necessary to help save a species.”

“And secondly,” Axel continues, “in many situations, the level of desperation keeps increasing. Often, if other conservation techniques are not able to prevent extinction on their own, reintroductions are necessary to help save a species.”

In some reintroduction efforts, the animals actually have to be trained—taught—how to be wild: how to find food, avoid predators, seek shelter.

Baby panda cubs are not born with an innate set of survival skills.

In order to minimize direct contact, when scientists and researchers need to transport a cub in the reintroduction program they first put on full panda costumes and then put the cub in a basket, a plastic bin, or a cage.

Gone are the dinosaurs.

Surely there are thousands more on the brink—as yet to be identified.

“I tend to be very conservative in these kinds of statements because I hate fearmongering,” says Dr. Axel Moehrenschlager.

From amphibians and reptiles to birds and mammals, no biological class is immune.

From amphibians and reptiles to birds and mammals, no biological class is immune.

Recently lost species include the golden toad, the po’ouli (a Hawaiian bird), the West African black rhino, the Tecopa pupfish, the Pyrenean ibex, the Zanzibar leopard, the Round Island burrowing boa, and the Pinta Island tortoise—to name just a few.

Recently lost species include the golden toad, the po’ouli (a Hawaiian bird), the West African black rhino, the Tecopa pupfish, the Pyrenean ibex, the Zanzibar leopard, the Round Island burrowing boa, and the Pinta Island tortoise—to name just a few.

“But, unlike any of the other mass extinctions,” explains Axel, “this one is quite clearly being caused by just one species—humans. And so it has a disproportionate and powerful effect: one species affecting the millions of others.”

Species are dying off in unprecedented numbers because of poaching and overhunting; because of habitat destruction and habitat encroachment; because of pollution and poisons in the air, ground, and water; and because of the abnormal effects of global climate change.

Species are dying off in unprecedented numbers because of poaching and overhunting; because of habitat destruction and habitat encroachment; because of pollution and poisons in the air, ground, and water; and because of the abnormal effects of global climate change.

They use a variety of methods, often simultaneously: protection of habitat, replanting of habitat, stricter laws to prevent poaching, community awareness—and reintroducing animals back into the wild.

The reality of the current mass extinction—and the sheer volume of animals close to or on the brink—is cause for great alarm.

Xiang Xiang takes a break from eating bamboo to hang out in histraining enclosure.

To begin training, Huang Yan, the deputy chief engineer and head of the wilderness training program for CCRCGP, moved Xiang Xiang from his captive environment (where he regularly interacted with people and pandas) to a larger, semi-wild enclosure where the team attempted to prepare him for his new life in the wild.

To begin training, Huang Yan, the deputy chief engineer and head of the wilderness training program for CCRCGP, moved Xiang Xiang from his captive environment (where he regularly interacted with people and pandas) to a larger, semi-wild enclosure where the team attempted to prepare him for his new life in the wild.

Zhang Hemin, Papa Panda (center, holding instrument, looking at monitor), along with team members at CCRCGP, performs a medical procedure on one of the pandas.

The bank of video screens in the background provides constant surveillance on the pandas in the training enclosures, making it easier to monitor and learn about panda behavior, as well as keep an eye out for danger.

When he was a captive cub, Xiang Xiang’s diet had been subsidized with manufactured foods packed with nutrients.

In wilderness training, these foods were gradually withdrawn and replaced solely with his new, soon-to-be-wild diet—bamboo, bamboo, bamboo.

In the first few weeks, alas, poor Xiang Xiang couldn’t master the skilled panda technique of bamboo eating—he wasted about 75 percent of the edible plant—and probably spent much of those days hungry.

In the first few weeks, alas, poor Xiang Xiang couldn’t master the skilled panda technique of bamboo eating—he wasted about 75 percent of the edible plant—and probably spent much of those days hungry.

The panda refused to be lured into the transport cage, so a tranquilizer dart was used.

The panda refused to be lured into the transport cage, so a tranquilizer dart was used.

With plenty of dignitaries present and fanfare fit for a king, the release cage was opened.

With plenty of dignitaries present and fanfare fit for a king, the release cage was opened.

Xiang Xiang wandered out, looked around for a moment—bemused? confused?—and then scampered off into the woods.

Two CCRCGP team members use radio telemetry equipment to track one of the released pandas.

Huang Yan and the team members tracked and monitored Xiang Xiang, and they could tell that he started out successfully: building a den, foraging for food.

Zhang Hemin, Huang Yan, and the experts on the CCRCGP team concluded that the five-year-old Xiang Xiang lacked sufficient survival skills.

With reintroductions, often the situation for a species is so dire—and the threat of extinction so imminent—that it’s necessary for conservationists to jump in and try something before it’s too late.

With reintroductions, often the situation for a species is so dire—and the threat of extinction so imminent—that it’s necessary for conservationists to jump in and try something before it’s too late.

With reintroductions, often the situation for a species is so dire—and the threat of extinction so imminent—that it’s necessary for conservationists to jump in and try something before it’s too late.

Sometimes this means that research goes hand in hand with the implementation of the program—they gather data and learn as they go along.

One year, Huang Yan and his team hosted a scientific forum to discuss their panda reintroduction efforts with experts around the world who were involved in other species reintroduction programs.

The sharing of scientific milestones and setbacks was beneficial to all involved, because even though the species differed—and what might work with a wolf, for example, might not succeed with a snub-nosed monkey—some of the techniques and overall approaches could be applicable across species, or even modified to fit a given species.

The sharing of scientific milestones and setbacks was beneficial to all involved, because even though the species differed—and what might work with a wolf, for example, might not succeed with a snub-nosed monkey—some of the techniques and overall approaches could be applicable across species, or even modified to fit a given species.

The CCRCGP team learned that many reintroduction efforts must shift strategy midway through—and this isn’t a bad thing; on the contrary, it’s how the best scientists work.

It was hard to see things clearly, and their range of motion was severely hampered by the cumbersome costumes.

It was hard to see things clearly, and their range of motion was severely hampered by the cumbersome costumes.

“The idea,” explains Huang Yan, “is not to make the cub think a human in a panda suit is a panda. It’s just to camouflage the human appearance so the cub does not get acclimated to humans.”

“The idea,” explains Huang Yan, “is not to make the cub think a human in a panda suit is a panda. It’s just to camouflage the human appearance so the cub does not get acclimated to humans.”

For a panda to survive in the wild, a panda must be wild—and that can’t happen if it’s been cuddled and coddled and cared for by humans before it’s released.

Yet it will take two years of “wilderness training” in the newly developed reintroduction program before a panda cub is set free, and some human interaction is unavoidable.

Instead, it encourages and reinforces the cubs’ natural behaviors in seeking out their own food, water, and shelter.Second, it encourages a healthy fear of humans—discouraging the cubs from wandering onto farms and being shot by farmers protecting their livelihoods.

From left to right, the team members are: Qiu Yu, Mu Shi Jie, Dong Chao, Deng Lin Hua (the head vet),and Huang Yan.

Of all the reintroductions of all the different species that are undertaken, only a small percentage currently have elaborate training-to-be-wild programs.

For many species—because of their biology, because of their behavior—there’s just not a whole lot you can do other than simply release them into the wild (known as a “hard” release) and then hope for the best.

But there are many reintroduction efforts that don’t do hard releases yet do employ some type of acclimation process,where the species is slowly transitioned back into the wild—using a staged, or “soft,” release.

Meanwhile, other endeavors to save the panda continued—particularly those attempting to
ensure a healthy, diverse habitat for them.

And because of these ongoing efforts, huge ecological side benefits have been attained and continue to be achieved.

By protecting thepanda—and, by necessary extension, its habitat—conservationists are also indirectly protecting the many other species that share the panda’s ecosystem, that are under its “umbrella.”

“If you can conserve the space that the pandas need,” explains Colby Loucks of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “you’re saving one of the more diverse, temperate forests and subtropical rainforests in the world.... As an umbrella species, the panda also encounters all the mountainous species living there, including red pandas, pheasants, golden snub-nosed monkeys, takins, snow leopards, deer, and lots of bird species.”

“If you can conserve the space that the pandas need,” explains Colby Loucks of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “you’re saving one of the more diverse, temperate forests and subtropical rainforests in the world.... As an umbrella species, the panda also encounters all the mountainous species living there, including red pandas, pheasants, golden snub-nosed monkeys, takins, snow leopards, deer, and lots of bird species.”

The golden snub-nosed monkey, for example, is categorized as an endangered animal, but it has received very little in terms of attention or conservation dollars.

For example, roughly one hundred million people live in adjacent areas, and six hundred million people live downstream from the pandas’ mountainous habitat.

At times, policies intended to preserve habitats have in turn hurt the local villagers.

And in an ironic twist, the adoration of pandas has led to ecotourism—which is a boon to the local economy and the villagers, but has unwittingly destroyed some panda habitats (one example: horses brought in to transport tourists trampled and ate large areas of bamboo!).

And in an ironic twist, the adoration of pandas has led to ecotourism—which is a boon to the local economy and the villagers, but has unwittingly destroyed some panda habitats (one example: horses brought in to transport tourists trampled and ate large areas of bamboo!).

And in an ironic twist, the adoration of pandas has led to ecotourism—which is a boon to the local economy and the villagers, but has unwittingly destroyed some panda habitats (one example: horses brought in to transport tourists trampled and ate large areas of bamboo!).

Understanding the interconnectedness between humans and natural ecosystems is a key element in the quest for panda sustainability.

Understanding the interconnectedness between humans and natural ecosystems is a key element in the quest for panda sustainability.

“We have been focusing on identifying how a panda habitat changes over time and across space,” says Jianguo “Jack” Liu of Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, one of the many independent institutions working alongside the CCRCGP.

One way to connect these fragmented areas is by building “green corridors” (strips of land that connect fragments of habitat to each other) so the animals can move within and between their habitat to find food (especially important if there is a mass bamboo die-off) and find mates (especially important because pandas must reproduce in the wild to sustain the population, hopefully diversifying the gene pool along the way).

The government provided monetary subsidies to the villagers to pay their electric bills so that they would use electricity for heating and cooking rather than chopping down trees and burning wood.

The government provided monetary subsidies to the villagers to pay their electric bills so that they would use electricity for heating and cooking rather than chopping down trees and burning wood.

The trees are not as dense as in a primary forest because this forest has been logged.

Exhibit two: their breeding is ridiculously difficult, given the narrow time frame—just two to seven days a year when the female is in heat and receptive to mating.

And within that time frame, there are just twenty-four to thirty-six hours in which she’s able to conceive.

But the panda (like the polar bear and the tiger, for example) has become a flagship species—a species people adore and flock to—and that popularity and visibility is something conservationists can, and do, build upon to broaden public awareness and support for a wider spectrum of conservation concerns.

“By restoring species, associated habitat protection can have a huge, positive, collateral impact on all sorts of other creatures that would otherwise not get the attention.
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And I think that in those cases,” he continues, “where you’re able to demonstrate the return of a species that people care about—-for whatever reason—it conveys a sense of hope at a time when many people feel helpless.”

After a three-year hiatus (spent restructuring the program and rebuilding after the earthquake), stage two of the panda reintroduction program began again in earnest.

After a three-year hiatus (spent restructuring the program and rebuilding after the earthquake), stage two of the panda reintroduction program began again in earnest.

Team members placed a pregnant female panda in a semi-wild enclosure about one acre in size—with natural vegetation and a den where the soon-to-be mother could give birth.

The discrepancy in size between a newborn panda and an adult panda (4 ounces at birth, growing up to 350 pounds) is the largest that exists among mammals.

Now, for the first time—as if it were Halloween or a day at a Disney theme park—Huang Yan’s team don their panda suits whenever they enter the enclosure to clean it or deliver bamboo.

The only additional interaction they’ll have is for health checkups or, when the time comes, lugging the cub and his mama through tough mountain terrain to a new enclosure.

“Behaviorally, [the panda cubs] are assessed using a complex evaluation that looks at movement, climbing ability, communication, and interaction with the mother,” explains Huang Yan of CCRCGP.

“Behaviorally, [the panda cubs] are assessed using a complex evaluation that looks at movement, climbing ability, communication, and interaction with the mother,” explains Huang Yan of CCRCGP.

“The behaviors we monitor include eating bamboo, locomotion, drinking, resting, sitting, exercise, investigating their surroundings, and scratching. The protocols are constantly being updated as the research progresses.”

“The behaviors we monitor include eating bamboo, locomotion, drinking, resting, sitting, exercise, investigating their surroundings, and scratching. The protocols are constantly being updated as the research progresses.”

Pandas have a keen sense of smell—the strongest of their senses—and communicate with other pandas primarily through scent (even more than vocalizations).

There are three such enclosures, which means three pairs of mothers and cubs train simultaneously (pandas are naturally solitary animals, which is why the enclosures are separated, one mother and her cub per enclosure).

It was a more difficult and risky environment for him—slipping in mud on the mountainside, huddling in the cold, traveling longer distances through steep, rocky terrain to find food—but this was critical for training purposes, and critical for surviving in the wild.

Meanwhile, the team lingered in the background: the vet provided medical checkups and vaccinations when needed (checking for parasites, injuries, and disease; measuring weight and growth), and other team members monitored the pandas around the clock.

Meanwhile, the team lingered in the background: the vet provided medical checkups and vaccinations when needed (checking for parasites, injuries, and disease; measuring weight and growth), and other team members monitored the pandas around the clock.

Panda-suited scientists hid behind trees and watched as a curious Tao Tao ventured over to investigate.

Tao Tao withstood rainstorms, frightening thunderclaps, and bone-chilling blizzards (luckily pandas have two coats of fur for warmth, and the undercoat is slightly oily for repelling water); he withstood mudslides that sent him slipping and sliding and tumbling down hillsides.

But at two years of age, cub Tao Tao was deemed ready for the wild—for going solo—just as nature intended.

Once they’re in the wild, the bears are elusive and often hard to spot, even with the collar.

This gives researchers something tangible to confirm a particular panda's whereabouts and movements.

This gives researchers something tangible to confirm a particular panda's whereabouts and movements.

By this time, the cub has already been wandering away from Mama for lengthy periods to feed and explore, so her absence isn’t altogether jarring.

Going solo gives the cub the opportunity—and the challenge—of truly being on his own (again, pandas are naturally solitary), allowing for a more authentic experience of life in the wild and hopefully allowing for a smoother transition.

Also on the change docket is varying the season in which the cubs are released.

“One of the things that’s really powerful about reintroductions is that they are incredibly hopeful,” says Axel Moehrenschlager of IUCN, “because they’re not simply about slowing the bleeding of a conservation crisis; instead they’re about restoring a species, ultimately restoring an ecosystem...it’s correcting past wrongs and making things better. ”

“And if we can say, ‘Hey, this species would have been gone, but conservation action saved it,’ then this can compel the public to save many others,” explains Axel.

ECOSYSTEM RIPPLE

If the mountain gorilla or the elephant or the Galápagos penguin goes extinct, it will trigger a variety of unforeseen consequences—but one sure result is that a link in the natural food chain will be altered and countless other animals as well as plants in the ecosystem will be negatively affected.Ultimately, this ripple reaches people who depend on the environment for food, water, and resources.

Endangered animals (clockwise from top left): hawksbill sea turtle, African elephant, Amurleopard, Galápagos penguin, Puerto Rican crested toad, mountain gorilla.