Chengdu, China - Giant Pandas! (Thursday, August 23rd, 2018)

OK, this may have been the most incredible day of my life, minus the crowds!  I have always dreamed of seeing the giant pandas, and here they are in person!

Our first stop this morning was the Giant Panda Research Center, where we learned about the life and preservation of the rare giant pandas.  This preserve opened in 1987 and covers about 2/3 of a square mile of land with walking trails running all over through it.

Just a few years ago, the giant pandas were on the endangered species list, but thanks to efforts around the world, the panda populations are recovering.  There are currently 80 pandas in this reserve and an estimated 2,000 in total in the world, including the reserve.  

In the wild they live in the mountains near the City of Chengdu, China.  An average male panda will be 1.2-1.8 meters and weight 120-150 kg.  The females are slightly smaller.  Pandas have 6 fingers on each hand, the sixth finger being near the wrist for grabbing bamboo shoots.  The pandas are believed to have been on earth for eight million years.  

Originally they were carnivores, but as they were forced from the higher altitudes, their diet changed to 99% bamboo, with arrow bamboo being their favorite.  They will still eat meat if it is available but in their current habitat, that is now usually the case.  An average panda will eat 20 kg of bamboo per day, and since bamboo doesn’t have much nutrition, pandas spend about 12 hours per day sleeping, 10 hours per day eating with only about two hours available for play. 

The pandas became endangered for several reasons, reduction of natural habitat, low breeding desire, low birth rate, lack of food (bamboo dies off every 30-40 years), and poachers.

Female pandas are solitary animals and are only able to breed for about a twenty-four hour period once a year.  They usually only have one cub, but occasionally will have twins.  In the case of twins the mom will abandon one of the cubs and raise the other. 

At the reserve they are using a combination of natural and artificial incimination to try and increase the birth rate, and the babies will be raised by hand by the reserve staff.  The gestation period is 3-5 months, and for the first few days the babies look like baby rats.  They are small, hairless and pink.  They are about 10 centimeters long and weigh about 100 grams.  Their skin will turn from pink to black and white in about 7 days.  They will begin eating bamboo at about six months.

The lifespan of the giant pandas in the wild is 18-20 years, however, in captivity they can live for up to 30 years with the oldest ever being 38 years.  It costs about one million dollars for a zoo to rent out a giant panda for 10 years.  In addition to this cost, they must also pay for all of the food, healthcare, etc. for the animal while they have it.  

At the reserve, each panda has a human keeper that they are raised by and know well.  They understand their name when the human keeper says it, but may not understand it if someone else says it.  Pandas do not hibernate, therefore their black and white coloring is good camouflage in the winter against the snow and rocks.  Pandas aren’t capable of running fast, so if they are pursued, they will choose to roll down the mountain side rather than try to run to escape.  They will also use their front paws to defend themselves, “slapping” their attacker.

Now to the stars of this post....the pandas!

A lot of the younger pandas were inside because of the extremely high temperatures outside, so the pictures of them aren't as good, but at least we got to see them.

These are the lines waiting to get to the nursery.  Uggh, but it was all worth it in the end.

When I'm standing in long lines waiting for pandas, I just can't help but take pictures of dragonflies.

We finally made it to the nursery.  These aren't the tiniest babies, they are still to come.

Here are the newest pandas.

Spread eagle!  Always a comfy way to sleep!

 Although there were unbelievable crowds to endure, this was definitely a high point for me!

 To think that these amazing creatures were almost extinct is hard for me to comprehend.  We are so happy to see these preservation efforts in action.  This was such an amazing experience for both of us!