Sorry, I haven't kept up with the blog, my dear readers, but just needed some time to myself after the holidays. So, let me update you on a couple of items that came to me through a fellow panda pal.
An article from the National Geographic News dated December 28, 2007, revealed that new fossils that have been discovered, may suggest that ancient pandas competed with the largest known apes for habitat and food. This taking place nearly half a million years ago on Hainan island which was a bamboo covered, hilly peninsula 400,000 years ago. The fossil of the giant panda was excavated from a limestone cave, alongside the remains of a titan-sized ancient ape called Gigantopithecus blacki. Photo by National Geographic, complete text of the article can be found at: Ancient Pandas Competed with Giant Apes for Bamboo
In other Panda News, many of us remember the sad outcome of 5 year old Xiang Xiang the first artificially bred Giant Panda to be released into the wild. It is believed that his inability to compete with more agressive wild pandas for food, territory or mating may have contributed to his death. The photo show Xiang Xiang with his keeper while checking on his status in the wild. An article out of Shanghai, reports that scientists in China may use a police dog to teach pandas to fight. The pandas would learn from the dog by observing his behavior. Interesting, I hope it works. The article appears on the ENN website. The link to the article is Chinese police dog may teach pandas to fight. Interesting, I hope it works.
