I’ve had a whirlwind of experiences in China and I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month since arriving! From waking up early to study pandas, to flavorful spicy foods, and the scenic view outside my bedroom window, many things are refreshingly different from the States. However, the constant road construction in the summer is the same here as it is in Minnesota!
As this is the first time I’ve returned to my country of birth, I have learned more about myself, my heritage, and of course, pandas. They each have unique traits and behaviors that I enjoy experiencing first hand. Half of the time, female pandas will give birth to one cub, and half of the time, pandas will give birth to twin cubs. In the wild, this is to ensure at least one cub will be able to pass their genes on. Sometimes a mother panda will reject one, or even both of her cubs if she has two. This happens more frequently with a first-time mother. If she is unable to take care of her cub(s), keepers may introduce them to a more experienced mother. This means another mother will raise the first-time mother’s cub as her own. She will care for her young and the new foster cub.
Another option is cub swapping, where keepers swap the twin cubs so the mother only needs to focus on one cub at a time. In the wild, pandas may stop taking care of the weaker cub to ensure that the stronger one survives. In captivity, keepers help panda mothers raise any cubs she brings into the world if she cannot raise them both. Raising cubs as the mother panda takes a lot of dedication, so during the first few weeks of their lives a mother may choose not to eat or drink water as her priority is to take care of her cub(s). Cubs are born completely helpless and must reply on their mother’s guidance for everything.
We haven’t had any birth here at Bifengxia just yet, but we are all eagerly awaiting the much anticipated beginning of the cub season. I wanted to explore more about panda fostering with my personal connection to the concept of being raised by someone who is not biologically related to you. As some of the cubs’ biological mothers were unable to care for their young, they were raised by other dedicated panda mommas. I find this very fascinating and I hope to witness more maternal care behaviors during my time here.
As a Chinese adoptee, I want to learn more about the benefits of experienced mothers fostering cubs. My biological mother and father were not able to raise me, so I was placed for adoption. I know my biological parents would have wanted the best for me and I am grateful to have found such a loving family to call my own. I am very thankful to have this enriching opportunity to learn about my culture and deepen my passion for conserving threatened and endangered species, especially pandas!
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My name is Michelle Vohs and I am a summer PDXWildlife giant panda intern, working in Bifengxia, Sichuan, China. Conducting research on pandas has allowed me to learn more about myself and passion for wildlife studies. If you would like to apply to future internship opportunities, be sure to check PDXWildlife’s webpage HERE. Thanks for reading.
How wonderful for you to explore your heritage and pandas at the sane time! And you will no doubt have a unique perspective on the mothers and surrogates as you are able to observe them. I look forward to your future reports!
This is my daughter Michelle’s first blog post. She is really enjoying her internship and learning a lot. I find it so interesting she chose this research topic. Interesting how perfect opportunities present themselves. She was very stressed when first placed with us, away from those who had cared for her those first 11 months. Then one night in our hotel a magical moment arrived when we were going to sleep and she reached out and grabbed my pajama sleeve and snugglled into me. I laid there and quietly cried from joy, feeling so blessed she had clearly accepted me. May those pandas and their cubs enjoy the same success and blessings. So proud of you, Michelle, and so grateful to have become family together. One world, one Chi, unites us all.
Hi Lauren,
Thank you for your very moving comment. We are very pleased to have Michelle in our program and are better because of her experience. Everyone brings their own unique background, mostly with a desire to either continue in the biological sciences or animal care. Michelle’s exciting life is a first for me, and I am glad that she was willing to open up and share her story with us. As PDXWildlife is a small, family run, non-profit, we consider all interns as part of our larger “family”. This allows everyone to have a more meaningful internship and also means that we simultaneously can be teachers and friends- Two qualities that we have found to be important in being a good “boss”.
I’m in constant communication with our team in China, so if you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me.
nate@pdxwildlife.com
Cheers-
This article is very well written and appreciate knowing the reason for your interest in giant panda mothers taking care of cubs other than their own. The Chengdu Panda Base has been doing this for much longer than Bifengxia and it has become quite sophisticated at pairing mothers with cubs according to individuals’ personalities. I hope you have an opportunity to meet some newborns at Bifengxia; hopefully, they’ll be arriving in July and August. Thank you for your thoughtful article.
I am very happy that you are having this opportunity and shaing it with all of us! Good luck!
Thanks for your interesting article Michelle. I hope you get to experience the birth(s) of a few panda cubs while you are at Bifengxia. It was also nice to read your mom’s comments – very sweet! Your blog reminded her of when you were just a cubby yourself 🙂 Enjoy the remainder of your stay in China.
Michelle, thanks so much for sharing your experience with me. I LOVE panda!! I am also glad you are enjoying your surroundings. Would it be okay to share your post with the FWCB dept. I want them to post it in their newsletter Be well and continue to make a difference.
peace
tracene