Information We Learned

Here is some information that we have learned about the Pandas. Click on the sentence and it will link you to their web site.

(I found this informaiton on their web site and want to keep it for the girls, so all credit goes to them for this. The following are their words.)

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (hereafter Chengdu Panda Base) is a non-profit organization engaged in wildlife research, captive breeding, conservation education, and educational tourism.

The Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987, with six giant pandas rescued from the wild. Today (2007) our captive population has increased to 62 individuals from that founding population of only six. Genetic diversity in the population is sustained by the exchange of preserved genetic material with other facilities. We are very proud that we have not taken any giant pandas from the wild for 20 years. This demonstrates our unique and uncompromising commitment to the conservation of the wild ( in situ ) population and the healthy growth of the captive ( ex situ ) population.

Due to our research and commitment to animal health and welfare, 110 giant panda cubs have been born to our Base in 75 litters, 70 survived and now we have 62. To assist other institutions holding giant pandas we provide technical support and send our experts to assist with care, rearing, and breeding. So that all giant panda researchers can share their knowledge, we host the Giant Panda Annual Technical Meeting, inviting researchers from all over the world to share information to improve captive management for the conservation of giant pandas.

The Chengdu Panda Base covers an area of 106 hectares and will be enlarged to 200 hectares during the third phase of our expansion. Red pandas, golden monkeys and other wild and/or endangered species live and breed here.

As a demonstration project of giant panda ex-situ conservation, the Chengdu Panda Base has not only dedicated itself to giant panda conservation, but has also made great efforts to combine natural scenery and man-made landscapes to create wonderful and humane living areas for giant pandas, red pandas, and other Chinese endangered animals. With the efforts of all the staff at the Panda Base, we have made great strides in the name of environmental protection to share with the world.

Our Giant Panda Museum, along with satellite museums in our Research Center and Panda Hospital provides 7,000m 2 of educational space to foreign and domestic visitors. We worked with design companies from the United States to create modern, interactive learning experiences. Through these learning areas, visitors will come to understand the depth of research and commitment it takes to help endangered species to survive in our world that is dangerously dominated by human influence. People the world over need to understand that this amount of research cannot be done for all the plants and animals that are in danger, and that conservation depends on all of us. Our Base is a unique facility and network for some very fortunate species.

As a famous sightseeing destination and a window to the wild, we improved our service facilities for tourists. Our efforts have made the Panda Base attractive to foreign and domestic audiences. We will fully use the resource of our endangered animals to strengthen conservation education to the public, and develop the Panda Base to be a unique educational tourism destination.

Below is from their brochure:

In the northern suburb of Chengdu, at the end of the Panda Road there is a wonderful place called Panda Adventure, or the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. It is dedicated to the conservation of native Chinese endangered species such as the giant panda and the red panda. Panda Adventure has received the same honors from the World Tourism Development Planning Evaluation as Jiu Zhai Gou Valley (the world of fairytales.)

There are nearly 400 kinds of trees, including ginkgo, chinars, yulans, and willows as well as many sub-species of bamboo that giant pandas love to eat. Hundreds of acres of grass and flowers of brilliant colors sprinkle the hills and borders Swan Lake. In this green world of lush bamboo woods there live many animals celebrities. Along with giant pandas, Panda Adventure is hme to cute and agile red pandas, elegant white and black swans, and blue peacocks. Thousands of white and grey egrets swoop and glide through the sky.

This is the largest Giant Panda Eco-Park in the World.