CAPTIVE GIANT PANDA RELEASED TO THE WILD

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-04/29/content_579967.htm

 

A giant step for pandas in captivity?

(China Daily)

Updated: 2006-04-29 07:00

 

WOLONG, Sichuan Province: Xiang Xiang, a four-year-old giant panda born in

captivity, took a historic step when he walked into the wild in Wolong, a

traditional habitat for the endangered species in Southwest China's Sichuan

Province.

 

[image: Xiang Xiang, a panda bred in captivity, wanders out of a small

cage with metal bars into the wild as dozens of people smile and clap behind

a fence at Wolong, a traditional habitat for the endangered species, in

Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday. Xiang Xiang became the

first-ever human-raised giant panda to be released into the wild.] Xiang

Xiang, a panda bred in captivity, wanders out of a small cage with metal

bars into the wild as dozens of people smile and clap behind a fence at

Wolong, a traditional habitat for the endangered species, in Southwest

China's Sichuan Province on Friday. Xiang Xiang became the first-ever

human-raised giant panda to be released into the wild. [newsphoto]

 

He became the first-ever human-raised giant panda to be released into the

wild, and had to undergo three years of survival training. He will be

monitored through a global positioning device attached to a collar.

 

Facing his new world, the panda hesitated for a second on Friday then

wandered into bamboo groves 10 metres away.

 

Xiang Xiang, which means " auspicious, " weighs 83 kilograms and is 1.1 metres

long.

 

Watching him leave, Liu Bin, who helped look after him for three years,

turned away with tears in his eyes.

 

" Xiang Xiang is like my child who has grown up and left the family to live

independently, " said Liu. " I hate to part with Xiang Xiang, but I hope he

can survive on his own without forgetting me. "

 

Xiang Xiang eats 8 kilograms of bamboo shoots a day as well as such things

as corn buns and milk, according to Liu.

 

Born into the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre in Wolong in

2001, Xiang Xiang was selected from more than 100 giant pandas bred in

captivity for natural habitat training, mostly because he was strong and

healthy, said experts.

 

He learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark his territory, and

developed defensive skills by howling and biting, said Zhang Hemin, head of

the panda research centre.

 

Zhang said they chose to release Xiang Xiang now because in late April his

favourite food, bamboo shoots, are sprouting.

 

Xiang Xiang faces many challenges, one of which is parasitic infection, said

Zhou Xiaoping, deputy chief engineer at the centre.

 

" Parasites can be fatal for a giant panda, " Zhou said. " The bamboo shoots

they eat in captivity are disinfected and scientists regularly check pandas

for parasites. "

 

There are more than 180 giant pandas living in captivity, and 1,590 in the

wild, mostly in Sichuan.

 

Xiang Xiang's liberation marks a significant change in saving the endangered

species, with the move to training them to live in the wild, said Zhao

Xuemin, deputy head of the State Forestry Administration.

 

Chinese scientists had previously given priority to artificial-breeding and

protection, Zhao said.

 

Plans are afoot to release other endangered species into the wild such as

Chinese alligators, wild horses and red ibis (a kind of bird).