Zhongxin. com, Chengdu, June 29th (Reporter Anyuan) The reporter learned today from the China Giant Panda Conservation Research Center that the two giant pandas "Hua Yan" and "Meng Zhang" of the center have successfully completed two stages of wild training at Walnut Ping Wild Training Base in Wolong, and are expected to be officially released to Liziping Nature Reserve in Sichuan in early July 2016. It is reported that this will be the first time in the world that two giant pandas will be released at the same time in summer.
The giant panda "Hua Yan", female, was born on August 14th, 2013 at Walnut Ping Wild Training Base in Wolong. My mother, Ye Ye, was born in Wolong, Sichuan in 1999. Father "Wugang" was rescued in Baoxing, Sichuan in 1999. Meng Zhang, a female giant panda, was born in Ya ‘an on July 7th, 2014. Mother "Card" was rescued in Sichuan Baoxing in 2000. The two giant pandas have been living with their mothers in the wilderness training circle since childhood, and their health has always been very healthy.
During the training period of "Huayan" and "Meng Zhang" in the wild, the researchers of the Conservation Research Center used the way that the females brought their cubs to live in the wild training circle to make the cubs learn the skills of wild survival to adapt to the wild environment, so as to maximize the possibility of successful release. In about two years, "Hua Yan" and "Meng Zhang" have successively gone through the first and second stages of wild training. The training contents include: being able to eat wild food without relying on artificial food; Be able to find water independently; Can find a shelter in the wild, without relying on artificial facilities; High alertness, can identify natural enemies, companion animals and similar individuals, and can effectively avoid natural enemies or other dangerous animals.
On May 26th, 2016, the demonstration meeting of wild training giant pandas "Huayan" and "Meng Zhang" released to nature was held in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, hosted by the Department of Wildlife Protection and Nature Reserve Management of the State Forestry Administration and hosted by China Giant Panda Protection Research Center. At the demonstration meeting, experts believed that the giant pandas "Meng Zhang" and "Huayan" had been trained in the wild, their growth and development were normal, and they had the ability to survive in the wild in the aspects of habitat selection, foraging, intra-species identification and avoiding natural enemies, which reached the expected training goal. It was suggested that the giant pandas "Meng Zhang" and "Huayan" should be released into the wild as soon as possible to rejuvenate the small panda population in the wild. In view of the fact that Liziping Nature Reserve has the previous experience in monitoring the release of giant pandas, which is convenient for the continuity of monitoring work, Liziping Nature Reserve in Sichuan is suitable for the release.
The release of two giant pandas at the same time and choosing to release them in summer is another new attempt of the wild training project of the Conservation Research Center, and this release will further expand the small panda population in the wild. (End)