A captive raised Chinese giant panda may be returned to the wild on
Friday by a research center.
Xiang Xiang, a four-year-old male raised in Wolong Giant Panda
Protection and Research Center, would be the pioneer for more than
180 captive-bred pandas around the world, said Zhang Hemin, the
center's head.
The release was important for the protection of the endangered
species as Xiang Xiang's experience would help scientists study how
artificially-raised pandas adapt to the wild, said Zhang.
He said the center, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, would use a global
positioning system device to track Xiang Xiang.
Most captive giant pandas are artificially bred and scientists
have found their natural instincts much diminished with some
unwilling to mate. Only 24 percent of females in captivity have
bred which poses a serious threat to repopulation.
Xiang Xiang, which means "auspicious", was born in August 2001.
He was selected for natural habitat training at the age of two.
Training began in a 20,000 square meter open air training center
and was later transferred to a home 10 times larger which simulated
his natural habitat, said Zhang.
With nearly three years' training Xiang Xiang has learned how to
build a den, forage for food and mark his territory. He has also
developed defensive skills such as howling and biting which is
similar to his relatives in the wild, said Zhang.
In March, giant panda experts from the State Forestry
Administration (SFA) and the Wolong center agreed that Xiang Xiang
was ready for freedom. He is being released at the height of the
growing season for bamboo shoots which will make it easier to find
food, said Zhang.
China started a giant panda training project in 2003 to teach
the animals to live in the wild before releasing them. The Wolong
center is responsible for implementing the project at an estimated
cost of 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million).
Co-sponsored by the Chinese government and the World Wide Fund
for Nature the center was established in 1980 in Wolong Nature
Reserve. It has bred 57 cubs since 1991 with 45 surviving.
Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species. Over 180
live in captivity and 1,590 in the wild mostly in the mountains of
Sichuan, studies by the SFA show.
(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2006)