With temperatures and humidity both reaching the 90’s in Ya’an, the summer panda research will soon begin. We’ve selected four very motivated and intelligent applicants- Michelle, Lorelei, Katherine, and Jonathan, who will collect behavioral observations on stereotypic and personality studies, but also continue our never-ending fecal freeze drying process. When they arrive in Sichuan on the 26th, we will have to hit the ground running and immediately begin the transformative process of turning eager interns into highly trained behavioral data collecting machines.
I’m flying out a little earlier so that I can say goodbye to the breeding season interns, but also to accompany Dr. Kersey to the Dujiangyan hormone lab. On the backside of this trip is the exciting conclusion to our mercury study. Just before my return flight, I will travel to Guiyang to meet with colleagues at the State Environmental Research Lab, and to drop off all of our mercury samples for analysis. This will be a bittersweet moment for me as we have been working on this project since the formation of PDXWildlife.
With a very busy trip planned, I am happy to see our old friends and to welcome the newest additions to the PDXWildlife family. As always, we welcome any of our followers and supporters to visit us in China to learn more about our research. Be sure to leave a comment below and let us know your plans. In the meantime- I’m off and will check back in a few days.
My name is Nathan and I am the deputy director and biologist for PDXWildlife. As part of the “Panda Team” I oversee and conduct training and research in China. I sincerely enjoy my work as a biologist and love to read and respond to any questions you might have.
