The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is located just outside of the huge metropolis  of Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province. Nearly 10 million people live in this city, as do quite a few pandas at the Base. The Wolong Breeding Center and the Chengdu Base are probably the two best known panda breeding facilities in the country and have been very successful at producing cubs. Here I was able to observe 15 adult pandas.
Chengdu is a Top-Notch Breeding Center
The base is a huge, beautifully landscaped park. In fact it took us several days to learn our way around. Bamboo is growing everywhere around the base, but none of it is fed to the pandas. The pandas’ bamboo all comes from the mountains. Special misting sheds built all around the grounds keep bamboo fresh in Chengdu’s heat.
Zoo Atlanta's Researcher Mixes Up Panda Feeding Schedules
Here we met a researcher from Zoo Atlanta named Estelle Sandhaus. She is looking at how the feeding schedule influences behavior. Many zoo animals can usually anticipate when they are going to be fed. Sometimes the anticipation leads to abnormal or detrimental behavior, such as pacing. Estelle is varying the feeding schedule to see if this will decrease the anticipation and thus cut down on the pandas’ stereotypic behavior. |
