Everyone is so excited here at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center CGPPRC with the release of Tao Tao into the wild. It was one of the first things we were told was was going to be taking place when we arrived here last week because our schedule was shuffled around it.
Here is the release from the base. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard for the two years in making this day possible. Good luck to you dear Tao Tao.
The world's first wild training panda released back to wild
2012.Oct.1215:29:57 Author:CCRCGP Editer:dongwc
On the morning of 11st Oct, the National Forestry Bureau and the Sichuan provincial government in Shimian Ya'an held the panda released ceremony, this event will be China's first giant panda through field system training by artificial breeding "Tao tao" released to Liziping nature reserve zone, this marks the China giant panda protection work into the new stage of development.
At 10:13 in the morning, open the "Tao tao" cage door, two years old "Tao tao" from out of the cage, straight into the bamboo forest, formally began new life in the wild.
"Tao tao" was born 2010 August in the Wolong nature reserve zone, “Tao tao” was in the training circle underwent three stages of field training in the area of 2400, 40000 and 240000 square meters. In September this year, experts said, "Tao tao" through field training, healthy, normal growth and development, field survival ability is strong, have stronger vigilance and awareness of self-protection, can be released into the wild. On October 10th, the "Tao tao" from birth place send back to Wolong.
It is an important goal to release the artificial breeding animal through wild training back to wild to enlarge the wild animal populations; it also has important meaning for the restoration and reconstruction for endangered wild animal breeding. The giant panda because of its low breeding ability, and has singleness feeding habits, and habitat fragmentation factors, to release giant panda to wild is more difficult than other wild animals.
National Forestry Bureau in Wolong and at Liziping nature reserve zone establish the giant panda Wild training base and release base, the personnel of the organization of scientific research in long-term research and practice, they summed up in the natural environment the giant panda cub’s with cub’s mother in system wild training methods, training improved ability wildness ability.
“Tao tao" is the first artificial breeding panda which by used new methods of training, at present, there are 6 pandas in Wolong to accept this new system of wild training; the future will be gradually released into the wild.
Experts said, “Tao tao" have to go through: adopt field environment, get into the local population, breeding, these multiple tests in order to realize the goal of back to wild. Researchers will be monitored for a long time for "Tao tao "’s behavior, in order to gain more experiences for artificial breeding giant pandas returns to wild.
At present, there established 64 Giant Panda Nature Reserve zones in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu provinces in China. The giant panda population grew to more than 1600. At the same time, through the strengthening of scientific research, successfully resolved the panda estrus difficulties, survival difficulties technical problems, the captive giant panda number reached 342, basically realization of the self-sustaining of artificial captive giant panda, alleviated the giant panda endangered status.
