2017 was quite a year for PDXWildlife in terms of scientific publications, internship opportunities, and trips to China to support our continued research on giant pandas. However, as we look ahead to 2018, the travel schedule doesn’t seem to be slowing down. On January 15th our lead field technician, Zachary David, will return to Gengda to continue our novel reintroduction research at Tiantaishan and Hetaoping. As this work is vital in bridging the increasing captive giant panda population with future releases, we are eager to understand what makes a panda better suited for returning to the wild.

With the completion of the remodel at Gengda (Shenshuping) later this month, Meghan will return for another breeding season to support our Male-Male competition study. This research will answer multiple longstanding questions in regards to intra-sexual interactions, of which captive male pandas have none. As part of this effort, we have filled multiple internship positions to tackle the complex and busy breeding schedule. After solidifying a the breeding plan and bringing the interns up to 90% inter-observer reliability, Meghan or myself (undecided) will travel to Bifengxia to train a single intern on fecal lyophilization. For this position, we are still looking for a qualified candidate.

In between our trips to Bifengxia and Gengda, we are compiling and analyzing our previously collected data on multiple long-running studies that are near and dear to our hearts- Maternal Care, which is one of Meghan’s favorites, as well as Stereotypic Analysis, which is one of my favorites. Also in the works is the final write-up on our Mercury and Methylmercury project. With any luck, we will be able to get one of these out before the heavy travel schedule ramps up. Here is a quick snapshot of what we have in store so far for the first part of 2018-

• Jan. 15th, Reintroduction studies at Tiantaishan & Hetaoping
• Feb. 14th, ORTWS joint conference & PDXWildlife presentation
• Feb. 16th, Shenshuping breeding season begins
• Mar. 7th, Bifengxia stereotypic research & fecal lyophilization
• Mar. 9th, San Diego- Pandamonium conference

As for the other two-thirds of 2018, we are still solidifying our plans but will continue to have a year-round presence at Gengda and Bifengxia, providing all of our followers with bear updates. We enjoy fulfilling your requests for pictures or for more information on our research as this “breeds” a healthy relationship between science and the community. As we have access to most of the bears at the CCRCGP, we will continue to provide information on your favorite pandas. Just send us a gentle reminder and we will do our best to fulfill your request.

Between Meghan and myself, we spend about four months a year in Sichuan, China, training future biologists, collecting data and meeting other panda enthusiasts. We often give small tours of our research at Bifengxia and Gengda to those who are willing to make the long trip. If you are interested, send us an email so we can help you make some plans. We’ve been making this journey for almost a decade, so we promise to offer some great travel tips. Feel free to contact us using nate’s email-nate@pdxwildlife.com. Thanks for reading and enjoy the new year.

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PDXWildlife is a 501 (c) (3) conservation non-profit and 100% of the donations that we receive go to fund research on giant pandas. To make a secure donation, we have setup a paypal account HERE. Talk soon!