THE PANDAS!

At the beginning of this week, I had the privilege of visiting the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This center is located very near to where I live and I enjoyed my visit here very much, so much so that I thought I might write a post about my trip! This post will be a little different to the usual. I want to educate my readers on the severity of the situation; that without this base and others like it, pandas would be on the list of endangered animals. 

In the past, the giant panda was found across most of Eastern Asia, however now, it is only found in remote areas of China. Most of them are found in the province I live in, Sichuan (四川). Almost all pandas that are born in the wild are born with a twin. The mother panda will select the strongest and focus her efforts raising and feeding this one, leaving the weaker panda to die. Current technology for captive born twin cubs allow for both to survive. As of August 2015, there are 397 pandas in captivity around the world. 146 of these are located in the Chengdu Panda Base. 

I was very fortunate to see some of these giant pandas myself. I went on a miserable and rainy day, but these are perfect conditions for pandas as they dislike the hot weather. They are beautiful creatures cared for in an environment which is perfectly suited to them, allowing them to live and wonder freely through the woodland areas. I was surprised at how many I saw, and after visiting the panda museum on site, I learned that breeding the pandas and increasing their population is the main objective of the base: “The goal of giant panda captive breeding is to establish a sustainable captive population, and to rebuild and rejuvenate the wild population through the reintroduction of captive individuals to the wild. Therefore, our primary concern is the breeding of healthy giant pandas.”

It makes me incredibly happy that even after being in Chengdu for a while now and thinking I have seen most of it, I am still taken aback at the wonders and beauty this glorious city has to offer. Seeing the pandas has been on my bucket list for a while, and now I can tick it off! 

I will end this post with a quote that was engraved in stone at the base:

“唯有了解，我们才会关心，我们才会采取行动；唯有行动，生命才会有希望。”

“Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.”

Thank you for reading! 

B x