As I pack our video and audio equipment into boxes, there are some bittersweet feelings in the air here at Bifengxia. We’ve been tip-toeing around the fact that the CCRCGP breedings will now take place at Gengda. Which, at this point, means that we will need to move our whole operation. Just last month we received the word from the breeding managers that this will indeed be the case.
Bifengxia has been our main base of operations for 7 years and we treat it like our second home and have grown to know it very intimately. The additional bonus of being located a short bus ride up the mountain from the bustling city of Ya’an has provided a backdrop to a cultural immersion unlike no other for us and for each of 24+ interns we hire each year. Gengda has it’s own pleasantries, but keep in mind that it is about 1/1,000th the size with a population of around 1,500 people. Needless to say, there is no Karaoke bar or Mr. Cheng.
Tomorrow morning, the 3 Bifengxia interns and myself will make the all-day trek to Gengda, transferring some equipment for the quickly approaching breeding season. Additionally, I need to finalize some last minute housing issues and re-connect with the Fall weaning interns Shalyn and Julia before they wrap up their 3 month internship. Furthermore, ss Gengda has a slightly different pen setup, it’s always beneficial if we can work out any possible observation kinks prior to the February intern arrival.
Yes, I am sad to pack the first box, but as long as our funding doesn’t completely dry up, we will hopefully be able to keep a skeleton crew at Bifengxia. We should know more in the next few weeks if it will be an entire shut-down or just a partial ramp-down. In the meantime, I’m off to Gengda.
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Nathan J.P. Wintle is the deputy director and biologist for PDXWildlife. Together with Meghan Martin-Wintle, they make up the Giant Panda team, training all the incoming interns and welcoming them into China. PDXWildlife is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, and as such, all donations are 100% tax deductible. Click HERE to support our giant panda research.
I will continue my meager support so you can stay in Gengda, too, I will try to increase it a little – I’m sure other pandaphiles will do the same!
Happy Holidays!
Sincerely, JoAnn
Oh, sad–here’s hoping you can keep both locations. And maybe you can get Mr Cheng to open a satellite location and karaoke bar for you?
I hope they have fixed the bathrooms at Gengda, all of which seemed to be out of order the whole time we were there. Silly of me I know–
Of course if you are at Gengda, I selfishly hope you’ll be able to get some photos of Zhen Zhen and her new babies, along with the rest of the 2017 group, about whom we have had so little information.
Will you still be doing reintroduction studies out of Hetaoping? I think the keeper who was taking care of Zhen Zhen’s twins when they were together and when I volunteered with them at Gengda may be looking to work there. He seemed very smart (and he speaks a fair amount of English) so I think he could be of help to you.
Take care–
Frances
I can’t imagine how hard it must be to leave BFX after seven years! I fell in love with BFX and Ya’an City back in 2011-2012 when I volunteered four times. The people of Ya’an and at the panda base were so friendly and helpful. I remember mornings when we would get to the base early and could just walk around in the peace and quiet, hearing the birds and crunch of bamboo, and keeper BJ singing while he cleaned his pandas’ yards. I hope you will get to keep at least a skeleton crew there at BFX – will it just become an auxiliary base again – in case of emergency or infection, etc.? I thought it was such a treasure and it made lasting memories for me. I hope all will go well for you and your team at Gengda! Mr. Cheng will surely miss you all, as well as the staff and keepers at the Base. Best of luck and good times for you all at Gengda! Jeanette Deines