Camp Panda: "Reality Check"–"What Hope Looks Like"

by Catherine Thimmesh
This nonfiction work explains the efforts taken by China and the United States to successfully preserve the giant panda from extinction.

This list covers vocabulary from "Reality Check"–"What Hope Looks Like."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. amphibian
    cold-blooded vertebrate living on land but breeding in water
    From amphibians and reptiles to birds and mammals, no biological class is immune.
  2. mammal
    a warm-blooded vertebrate having the skin covered with hair
    From amphibians and reptiles to birds and mammals, no biological class is immune.
  3. disproportionate
    out of proper balance
    “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.”
  4. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
    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.
  5. mercilessly
    without pity
    By 2011, the West African black rhino was officially declared extinct, thanks to poachers who mercilessly killed them for their horns—which people then use for decorative carvings and grind into powder for medicines.
  6. ecology
    study of the relations of organisms to their environment
    “The panda reintroduction program began in 2003 with a team made up of researchers from many fields, including ecology, behavioral science, veterinary, and feeding management,” explains Suzanne Braden of Pandas International.
  7. surveillance
    close observation of a person or group
    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.
  8. dignitary
    an important or influential person
    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.
  9. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    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.
  10. telemetry
    automatic transmission of data from remote sources
    Two CCRCGP team members use radio telemetry equipment to track one of the released pandas.
  11. forage
    collect or look around for, as food
    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.
  12. imminent
    close in time; about to occur
    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.
  13. implementation
    the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order
    Sometimes this means that research goes hand in hand with the implementation of the program—they gather data and learn as they go along.
  14. milestone
    a significant event in your life or in a project
    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.
  15. hypothesis
    a tentative insight that is not yet verified or tested
    If the data does not support the original hypothesis and experimentation (or implementation), then the original hypothesis and approach must be changed.
Created on Mon Oct 21 20:20:53 EDT 2024 (updated Mon Aug 04 16:05:09 EDT 2025)

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