Zachary at Hetaoping
We’re here! Finally!! And ready to start our reintroduction work!
Handstand scent marking is harder than it looks!
After two days of down time in Chengdu waiting for my suitcase, I was finally able to change into new (i.e. clean) clothes, and Zachary David and I got picked up at 9am this morning to head to Hetaoping. I was ecstatic to see that our old friend Zhou Xiaoping is now the head of the reintroduction program and was waiting with open arms to greet us. I had been feeling apprehensive about leaving Zachary with so little time to set up but, with Mr. Zhou as his point of contact, I’m absolutely confident he’ll get a lot done in his month here.
Observing panda in the reintroduction pens at Hetaoping
We started our stay with a delicious meal, saying “hi” to old Hetaoping friends, and then heading straight to a super productive meeting about the next few years of collaboration . Zachary was even able to see the inner workings of an official Chinese meeting (an invaluable experience for interns – I actually think he may be the first of our interns to have experienced this).
After the meeting all of our panda dreams came true! We finally got to don the infamous panda suits (I was literally squealing).
Decked out in our new (to us) panda suits we were able to hike along the tops of the First Phase reintroduction pens (located at Hetaoping/Old Wolong – the site of the earthquake). Shui Xiu is in the 1st enclosure, Zhang Mei in the 2nd, and Shu Qin in the 3rd. I’ve learned that the iPanda cams don’t stay trained on any one enclosure but instead they try to alternate between the enclosures to always have a panda in view. Hope this helps some of you who were confused about who/where the new iPanda cams were at Hetaoping.
Zachary David watching Shu Qin and looking for her baby – the cub was way up in a tree and we couldn’t get a nice photo
Shu Qin sleeping away in the 1st Phase reintroduction training pens.
Zachary David zipping into the panda with all of his winter clothes underneath
There are also 12 spanking new red pandas bringing the total at Hetaoping to 16. They are some of the cutest animals ever with awesome coloration. Zachary and I were debating how the variations in the coloration may have adapted in these guys. Does anyone know?
We also had the pleasure of saying “hi” to two asiatic brown bears that are super cute but did not feel obliged to get up from their naps in the trees for us.
After the very necessary formalities of planning research and meetings all day we headed to an official dinner with everyone. I can solidly say that after today, Zachary and my spirits are higher – we had been a little discouraged after such a dismal start to our reintroduction work! We head to the Phase Two pens tomorrow to really hash out the specifics of our research design. Wish us luck!
Have questions about Hetaoping, Shen Shu Ping (Gengda), or our reintroduction work? Ask in the comment section below!
-Meg
How exciting that you are able to view the pandas and perform your work at Hetaoping!!
Diana – we’re so fortunate to be doing this work and are acutely aware of how lucky we are to visit these large centers at least 3 x per year for extended periods. It really allows us to get to know each individual bear. I wish all of you guys, who love the pandas so much, had the same opportunities! Thanks for commenting.
Thank you for all the work you do – you look so cute in your panda suits! You are the future of our beloved pandas! Thanks for the pix of the red pandas, too! I can almost close my eyes and feel like I am there through your eyes! If you get a chance to get a picture of Lin Ping’s younger cub I’d love one – she’s my (shared) adopted daughter! I enjoy your posts and will donate when I can! Thanks!
Joann, Thanks so much for the recent donation! As you know, being a very small and specialized non-profit, every dollar counts! I love the little red pandas they’re so cute and do many of the behaviors that giant pandas do (even hand-stand marking!). I visited the Gengda kindergarten but couldn’t tell who was who. I’ll post all the photos soon and maybe all you panda experts will be able to identify some -hopefully I got Lin Ping’s cub!
Good luck and keep safe!
Regards,
Karen
Congratulations for being included in this program. It’s a validation that CCRCGP believes in the work you are doing and hope that different eyes will give additional light to the wild reintroduction program. Kudos!!!
Are the panda suits you and Zachary wearing clean smelling or have they been panda aromasized 🙂 ?
Hello,
My apologies for answering, but Meghan is currently in transit back home.
We are very excited to be part of the reintroduction work as it represents a major milestone for the captive breeding program. We owe so many thanks to the San Diego Zoo and to the CCRCGP for their willingness and assistance in allowing us to operate at various Sichuan locations. Mr. Zhou Xiaoping (now in charge of reintroductions) is a wonderfully helpful and intelligent collaborator, and we couldn’t be happier to work alongside him.
From my conversations with Meghan in regards to the panda suit- I think you were hitting the right thought. She said they were a little musty. I’ve only heard rumors, but I think they rub the suits with feces and urine to better mimic a real panda? I’m sure she will have a little more insight on this smelly matter when she arrives and snaps out of her travel coma (jet lag).
Thanks for reading and commenting-
They were panda aromasized. They try to mask the human in us as much as possible! I just felt like a robber and could barely see (I was silly and didn’t put on my contacts that day so they were fogging up through the whole hike!).