As I stuff the last of my dirty clothes into my luggage, I begin to get excited to see my wife and daughter. However, leaving China is never an easy process as it has an addictive quality about it. Weather it’s the smell of freshly steamed baozi or sleepy eyed security guards waving goodbye each morning at 7:20 am, China grows on you very quickly. But what really puts its hooks into me before leaving is that I won’t get to see the remainder of these bears mate.

Nathan- Self Induced Panda Addict

The repetitive walks from our office over to the breeding center had me logging about 5 miles per day for a chance at catching a sporadic mating. The multitude of behaviors that we observe during all aspects of the bears interactions- from Pre-Mating all the way through to Post-Mating, lead you to quickly develop a scale of who you believe would be the more “compatible” or “better” mate. It becomes almost like a one-wager bet you make with yourself. No matter the outcome, once the two paired bears successfully breed, you are almost brought to tears in excitement.

As they are first introduced your heart rate begins to increase as you vie for a good viewing location. You find yourself running a slow race as in true panda style, the introductions can sometimes take several hours or even days. Once there is a green light to allow each bear access to the other, the fun-run that you entered now becomes a hurried dash to record and videotape as much as you can. After 30 attempts to mount the female, she finally accepts her overly excited partner. You forget to hit the record button and instead find yourself cheering on the furry couple as if it were a bizarre sporting event.

As in true cinematic style, a successful breeding spawns a barrage of cigarettes to celebrate the newly connected couple. The mating has everyone excited and talking about what was good, bad, funny, or could use some improvement. For a moment, it’s an extremely tight knit circle of panda addicts, reveling in the afterglow of an endangered bears hopeful chance at parenthood. The moment you realize how important and informative the event you just witnessed really is, you can’t wait to see another.

Even though I will be back in China in a little over a month, returning home is never an easy process. It’s hard to leave these bears who’s behaviors and facial markings you can now recognize in a split moment. On another note, I have to remind myself that I am very lucky to study and work with such a magnificent species that I continue to love more with each visit.

It will be alright. Why don’t you come give me a hug.