National Geographic
11 April, 2015
Wu Gang mates with Ji Ni as a keeper looks on, at the Bifengxia panda base, Sichuan China. The bears’ attempt to breed was unsuccessful. The Bifengxia keepers are finding ways to allow for natural reproductive behaviors such as scent-marking, mate choice, and male competition.
Once endangered, the giant panda is now considered vulnerable, meaning at lower risk of extinction. China’s efforts to eliminate poaching and to protect the panda’s habitat played a large role in increasing numbers. Two-thirds of the world’s wild pandas live in nature reserves in the bamboo-rich forests above the Sichuan Basin. The original decline of the species was attributed in part to the disappearance of bamboo, the panda’s principle food, as forests were converted to farmland. China’s restoration of the animal’s habitat has led to an increase in geographic range, and animals bred in captivity are now being reintroduced to the wild. Pandas living in captivity need to undergo training to learn how to cope in the wild. The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda oversees three panda bases in Sichuan, dedicated to reintroducing the bears to nature: Bifengxia, Dujiangyan and Wolong.
Ami Vitale
Ami Vitale is a photographer, writer and filmmaker currently based in Montana. She is an Ambassador for Nikon and a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine. ...
