The Giant Panda: A Visit to the Chengdu Panda Reserve

The Giant Panda, or the panda bear, is a creature so mysterious that its reputation is beginning to take on a mythical status. One of the few large animals that does not fall anywhere into the normal food chain, the Giant Panda is neither a predator nor a prey. Surviving solely on the swift growing bamboo, a self-generating plant, the Giant Panda has no ecological influence on the habitat it thrives in, making its value to the world somewhat dubious. Complicating this, is the fact that the Panda is one of the most endangered large animals out there, and the protection and upkeep of this unique creature is an expensive and exhausting process.

On our visit to the Chengdu province in China, we were able to see a rare glimpse of the Giant Panda on a visit to the Chengdu Panda Reserve, a large and protected research facility dedicated to the upkeep and well-being of Pandas.

The Chengdu Panda reserve is located about 10 km (or 6 miles) outside of the smoky city of Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China. While it is possible to get to the reserve via taxi or via bus, my husband and I chose to join a tour group that would take care of the transport. As the Panda bear is a creature of habit, we were told that we needed to get to the reserve by 8:30 a.m., which is when the Panda would wake from its rest, and start its morning feeding. Then, the Panda would eat for 3 hours, before going back to sleep. So to get a good sighting of the Panda, we would have to wake at about 7:30, to allow for both driving times and the long lines to the reserve itself.

Opened in 1993, the Panda reserve is one of the largest and the best maintained facility created for the protection of the Giant Panda. Consisting of 90% of bamboo fields, the Panda reserve also has a gestation center, a medical center, living quarters, as well as large and well constructed playgrounds for the Panda.

After standing in line for a while, my husband and I began to wander about the park, getting a great spot from which to watch an adult male Panda wake from its rest, and immediately begin to eat. We were also able to see younger pandas, and had access to an incredible museum that taught us more than we had ever expected to learn about the Giant Panda.

1. The adult male Panda grows to about 5 feet in height, female Pandas are marginally smaller.
   
2. An adult Panda can weigh up to 250 pounds.
3. Despite the fact that the Giant Panda has the large molars and sharp incisors, usually associated with carnivores, the Panda bear is herbivore, eating bamboo leaves and shoots, almost exclusively. Yet, it is almost certain that the Panda had been a meat-eating animal at some stage of its evolution. Why Pandas stopped eating meat, and began to eat only the bamboo plant, is one of the many mysteries surrounding the animal
4. The diet of bamboo is a terrible one. It's so nutritionally poor, that the Panda spends 50% of its day eating Bamboo. This tires out the Panda, so its spends the other 40% of the day resting. The remaining 10% is spent in play. It's not a bad life, eh?
5. The Panda has very little interest in sex. Given how endangered the animal is, this is a huge problem. The research center therefor has a dedicated department to the creation of "Panda Porn" which is supposed to help the male Panda demonstrate some interest in the female.
6. The female Panda can have up to 7 - 10 children in her lifetime. But often they do not, having only 1 - 3 Panda babies. This is yet another reason why it is so hard to improve the decline in the Panda population.
7. There was a prevailing myth that the Giant Panda could not be human raised, but in the Wolong Reserve, a set of Panda twins were raised by humans from birth to youth, raising the possibility that human care could help with the declining Panda population.
   

The juxtaposition of its giant size, sharp teeth and gentle friendly nature, has made the Giant Panda something of a myth. In Chinese interaction, the gifting of a pair of Giant Pandas to another state has come to signify a gesture of peace and friendship.

This goes back to the rich cultural history of the country - Three thousand years ago, a history of China called the Shangsu, described an animal with black and white markings that was as strong as a tiger and as gentle as a rabbit. Because of the dichotomy of its two main characteristics, the pelt of the Giant Panda, became a very desirable gift, especially for monarchs and other statesmen.

During wars during the olden days of China, if a flag with the symbol of the Panda was raised, the battle had to draw to an instant halt as the Panda had already become a symbol of peace and good intentions. It is to continue this tradition that the modern Chinese government often gifts Panda bears to other nations, including the United States.

Hunted historically for its pelt, and with its natural habitat of bamboo forests declining swiftly, there are only about a 1000 Pandas left in the wild. While there has been a great support for the preservation of the Panda, both in China and internationally, the valiant efforts are not seeing enough results in the increase in the Panda population. With support and more research, it is hoped that the steady decline in Pandas will slowly reverse itself, for it would be a terrible shame to lose these striking and gentle bears.