By Lachlan O’B and Daniel:
Day Three was all about pandas! For some, this would be the highlight of the trip. First, however, we had to tackle the feat of getting up at 6:30, a task that some are still struggling to accomplish. After a hurried breakfast we boarded the bus for an hour’s drive to the Qing Cheng Mountains, home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
On arrival, we were ushered to lockers, where we stowed our belongings for the day and donned glamorous cyan full-body outfits, the uniform of the “panda husbandry learners”. We then drove in 12-seat golf carts to the panda enclosures. We were met by glass fences with signs reading: “I am responsible for being cute. You are responsible for being quiet.” These surrounded various climbing apparatus containing a gutter, which acted as an effective depository for ‘panda matter’. Then, we got straight to work cleaning the enclosures, which were cluttered with panda poo, slyly obscured by leaves. One of the pandas had been taken from the wild, having suffered life threatening injuries, necessitating the amputation of a leg. The panda’s misfortune revealed how hard the staff work to help the animals and demonstrates hardship that pandas can encounter in the wild. Motivated by the presence of the fluffy pandas we cleared the enclosures quickly, then toured the sanctuary, learning that the facility uses the panda’s waste, which is largely composed of bamboo, to produce paper and fertilise tea.
Our lunch break took us to a restaurant with a contract. All visitors are required to sign a piece of paper, saying that they will prevent waste by finishing all the food that they put onto their plate. After lunch, we filed into a viewing room to watch a short documentary on the panda and conservation effort to save it from extinction. We learned that, while pandas once ranged in large numbers from Beijing to the Himalayas, habitat destruction has resulted in wild populations dwindling to a meagre 1500. Some areas are too steep for logging, meaning that the remaining pandas live in isolated pockets where the terrain is mountainous. This can limit the genetic diversity of a breeding group within this area, confined to similar or the same bloodline. As in other species, inbreeding can have detrimental health impacts which contribute to the decline in population that has put Giant Panda at risk of extinction.
Conservationists and panda experts alike are fighting to prevent this outcome through extensive and innovative breeding efforts pioneered by Dr Zhang, affectionately known as “Papa Panda.” The breeding trials have not been without complications, however. The researchers have struggled to encourage the pandas to breed, but after learning that female pandas are only capable of mating for two days out of every year and making efforts to simulate the pandas’ natural environment, they began to succeed. Another challenge has been incubating pandas when they cannot be with their mothers. Early on, two-thirds of all incubated baby pandas died within eighty days of their birth, but after discovering that baby pandas require help to relieve “colonic congestion”. There are now 170 pandas in Dr Zhang’s sanctuary, but the biggest problem has been introducing the pandas to the wild. When raised in captivity, they do not learn the instincts necessary to survive in the wild. In particular, they don’t learn to evade predators. Work has been done to train the pandas to live in the wild by giving them extensive enclosures, limiting human interaction, and simulating the threat of predators.
China’s government has emphasised the protection of pandas and their habitat. The country replants four million hectares of trees every year, topping the efforts of all other countries combined. They have also negotiated with farmers to rehouse away from panda habitats. The farmers whose homes and farms have suffered heavy damage from the 2008 earthquakes are willing to exchange their land for housing which will be in the valleys, away from the habitat.
There is a misconception that pandas are like koalas: they only eat one thing. However, although they eat up to 38kg of bamboo a day they are also fed carrots and “panda cakes” among other things. They are actually omnivorous, eating birds and mice occasionally in the wild. The “panda cakes” are a specialty mix of rice, soybeans, corn and a bit of sugar and help to balance the diet of the pandas.
Hot Pot is a local specialty in Chengdu and so on the final night here we had to go and try it. Various meats are assembled on platters while the central hot pot bubbles away with tomato and mushroom soup and assorted accompanying vegetables. A condiment station allows you to pick herbs, spices and sauces for you to customise your meal and create a dipping sauce for your meal. The circular tables allowed for thriving conversation and the preparation of your own meal was very enjoyable. This week we are celebrating the birthdays of Rebecca, Riley and Jack the former having been celebrated today with Chinese happy birthday playing through the restaurant speakers and celebratory cake shared after our meal. Tomorrow we head off to Guiyang and then to the rural village, but our time in Chengdu will definitely be remembered.
Lachlan O’B: Hi Mom, Dad, and Alex. I hope you guys are well. I’m actually enjoying the food and I’m managing to get enough sleep. I’ve loved the trip so far, but I look forward to seeing you guys when we get back.
Daniel: Trip’s been great. The group is getting along fantastically. I am having a bit of a dairy crisis and have had fried rice at every meal thus far. First culture shock was at the equivalent of the botanical gardens where they had old school tinder, parents writing spiels about their son or daughter and why they might be the perfect match for you on laminated pieces of paper and sticking them around the place. Hope you are doing well. A highlight is the pandas who act exactly as you’d expect them to. They’re very uncoordinated. See you in 14 days.
