Post by Urban Warrior on Apr 28, 2006 16:30:01 GMT
A giant panda today became the first of its species to be released into the wild after growing up in captivity.
Scientists in China released the panda, Xiang Xiang, into bamboo forests in central China near the research centre where he had been trained to adapt to life in the wild.
The four-year-old male bear will be tracked with the help of a global positioning device attached to his collar.
"When the door of its cage opened ... Xiang Xiang hesitated for a second, then walked slowly for a few steps and eventually ran into a bamboo forest 10 metres away," China's official Xinhua news agency said.
The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species. An estimated 1,600 of the creatures live wild in the mountain forests of central China, the only place in the world where they are found.
The animals are threatened by loss of habitat and poaching, and have a low reproduction rate. Wild females normally have a cub once every two to three years.
The Chinese government has bred 103 giant pandas in captive and spent $12.5m (£7m) on training them for release into the wild since 2003, according to Xinhua.
Experts at the Wolong giant panda research centre, in Sichuan province, spent three years teaching Xiang Xiang to build shelters, forage for food, mark his territory and ward off aggressors by howling and biting. He learned the skills in a 20,000 sq m compound.
Xiang Xiang, whose name means "auspicious", was set free in late April because that is when the bamboo shoots, his favourite food, are sprouting, said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong centre.
The 80kg, 1.1m-tall bear was chosen for release because he was "very strong and healthy", Xinhua said.
Xiang Xiang's release was "certainly a significant event," according to the WWF's representative for China, Dermott O'Gorman.
"But once it is in the wild, it's going to have to deal with all the problems that wild pandas have to deal with," he told Reuters. "
He added that habitat preservation, rather than captive breeding, was the best way of protecting the giant panda.
Liu Bin, Xiang Xiang's keeper, said he had had tears in his eyes while seeing the panda off.
"Xiang Xiang is just like my child who has grown up and will leave the family to live a life independently," Mr Liu was quoted as saying.
"I hate to part with Xiang Xiang, but I hope it can survive on its own and will not forget me."
Scientists in China released the panda, Xiang Xiang, into bamboo forests in central China near the research centre where he had been trained to adapt to life in the wild.
The four-year-old male bear will be tracked with the help of a global positioning device attached to his collar.
"When the door of its cage opened ... Xiang Xiang hesitated for a second, then walked slowly for a few steps and eventually ran into a bamboo forest 10 metres away," China's official Xinhua news agency said.
The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species. An estimated 1,600 of the creatures live wild in the mountain forests of central China, the only place in the world where they are found.
The animals are threatened by loss of habitat and poaching, and have a low reproduction rate. Wild females normally have a cub once every two to three years.
The Chinese government has bred 103 giant pandas in captive and spent $12.5m (£7m) on training them for release into the wild since 2003, according to Xinhua.
Experts at the Wolong giant panda research centre, in Sichuan province, spent three years teaching Xiang Xiang to build shelters, forage for food, mark his territory and ward off aggressors by howling and biting. He learned the skills in a 20,000 sq m compound.
Xiang Xiang, whose name means "auspicious", was set free in late April because that is when the bamboo shoots, his favourite food, are sprouting, said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong centre.
The 80kg, 1.1m-tall bear was chosen for release because he was "very strong and healthy", Xinhua said.
Xiang Xiang's release was "certainly a significant event," according to the WWF's representative for China, Dermott O'Gorman.
"But once it is in the wild, it's going to have to deal with all the problems that wild pandas have to deal with," he told Reuters. "
He added that habitat preservation, rather than captive breeding, was the best way of protecting the giant panda.
Liu Bin, Xiang Xiang's keeper, said he had had tears in his eyes while seeing the panda off.
"Xiang Xiang is just like my child who has grown up and will leave the family to live a life independently," Mr Liu was quoted as saying.
"I hate to part with Xiang Xiang, but I hope it can survive on its own and will not forget me."