Paying to shovel poop!

Giant Panda

The scientific name means, "black and white cat-footed animal."

When we think of China we picture may things, maybe the Great Wall, or Tiannenan Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the “Bird Cage”, the sky lines of Shanghai or Beijing, but none capture the essence of China better than the Pandas!  Although the Pandas’ have existed for more than 2-3 million years, their habitat has dwindled and they are now found only in the high mountainous areas (8-11,000 feet) of Western China. Originally, panda territory included South and East China and parts of Myanmar (Burma) and Northern Vietnam. Fossil evidence shows that pandas lived almost as far north as Beijing. Today, pandas are found in six isolated forest areas in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces in China. I am not sure exactly why the Panda has captured hearts all over the world, but through our recent encounter we too have been mesmerized by their character and beauty.

Our adventure started with a three hour plane ride from Shanghai to central portion of China, the Sichuan region and more particularly, the city of Chendu.  Here is located the Chen Du Panda Research and Breeding Center.  The aim of this center is to breed Pandas for Zoos around the world and to also release Pandas back into nature at the age of 6 years old.  There are currently 60 Pandas in this facility but they also take responsibility for all Pandas in captivity globally.  This brings their responsibility to more than 100 Pandas; this accounts for approximately 1/10 of all the Pandas on the planet.  Since the Pandas live in the remote mountain regions where it is either snowing of raining much of the time, and because the government wants to protect this dying spieses, it is virtually impossible to see the Pandas in the wild. 

The Pandas were virtually unknown until the 1950’s when China publicized them to the world.  Mom McCloskey remembers fondly this global introduction and even has an original Panda necklace to commemorate this event.

Rather than choosing to be a mere spectator, (like we are at the Zoo), Catharine and I decided to experience the Pandas’ first hand; we volunteered to be “Panda Keepers” for a day!!  Or as Catharine so affectionately puts it:  We paid to shovel Panda Poo! 

Our duties began with the feeding of the Pandas.  This entailed skewering an apple piece onto a long stick and offering it to the Pandas in their habitat.  The Pandas normally eat only young bamboo shoots but they really seemed to enjoy the diversion.  After this we prepared special “Panda Cakes” which were a combination of high fiber products and special nutrients and vitamins to keep them healthy.  They loved this high fiber treat and could be seen clambering over their colleagues to get the luscious treat.  Then it was on to the not so glamorous chores; cleaning their cages.  But not only did we have to shovel their poo but we had to bag it and weigh it to ensure that they were digesting and eating normally.  Although this sounds trivial, you need to know that a Panda will poop more than 80 pounds of poo per day!!  That’s a lot of shoveling!! Cath is seen here feeding the Pandas their favorite treats; apples and fiber cakes.

After completing our chores, we were off to the fun part of the day, holding a young Panda.  We each had the opportunity to cuddle a 7 month old Panda (approx.. 40 pounds) and watch her while she ate a “Honey dipped” piece of Bamboo.  Although we had to wear protective clothing, we could feel the softness and the tenderness of this Panda Bear.  Catharine’s bear even held hands with her.  It was quite a wonderful experience to be “Up-close and personal with a real Panda Bear”.  Unlike the “Koala “Bear”” (which isn’t really a bear at all, the Panda is a real bear but many years ago they adapted and they no longer ate meat but rather concentrated on bamboo shoots.  Perhaps it was due to the fierce competition for meat of the scarcity of its supply, but for whatever reason the Pandas evolved into vegetarians. The panda's digestive system is partially adapted for processing bamboo: they have a tough throat and a thick stomach lining. However, their short intestines are unable digest cellulose and, therefore, do not remove all of the nutrients from the bamboo. Pandas only digest about 20% of what they eat while in contrast, cattle digest 60%.  This means that they require more than 80 pounds of bamboo every day. 

For years, scientists have argued about whether the panda is more closely related to the bear or the raccoon. Bears, raccoons, and dogs all descended from the same common ancestor that lived over 24 million years ago.

The panda has some characteristics common to bears, but other characteristics are not like bears. For example, their head is larger than a bear's, they do not hibernate, and they do not walk on their hind legs like bears. They are also non aggressive, possibly derived from the fact that they have no predators when they are full grown.  Pandas are about the size of the American black bear. An adult panda is typically 4 - 5 feet and weighs about 265 to 350 pounds.  Pandas live between 18 to 25 years in the wild.

Pandas in the wild are most active at twilight and night , but in captivity they normally sleep at night get up and eat their breakfast (40 pounds of bamboo), then sleep through till evening when the eat again.  In the wild they spend more than 12 hours per day eating, 10 hours sleeping and 2 hours playing. Their forepaws have an enlarged wrist bone that works as an opposable thumb and are useful for handling bamboo. Pandas can climb trees, and we often saw the younger bears asleep in the tops of the trees.

The panda's coat and is very thick, it is made up of two layers: a coarse outer layer and a dense, wooly under layer. Their fur is slightly oily which prevents water penetration in the cool, damp climate where the pandas live.  Although useful in their natural habitat, they have a hard time staying cool during the summer days in the middle of China, and therefore spend much of their time inside their air conditioned enclosures. Fortunately, when we were there, the day was cool and overcast and they were actively enjoying the great outdoors.  

  

           

As most of us know, Pandas are mostly white with black across their shoulders; on their arms, legs, and ears; and around their eyes. Some speculate that their coloration provides camouflage during the winter in their mountainous habitat but others feel that their conspicuous coat enables the solitary pandas to spot one another. This way, they can avoid each other during most of the year and for males and females can find one another during the breeding season.

 Pandas are generally thought to be solitary animals. They live in well-defined territories. Males' territories, 1.5 to 2.5 square miles, often overlap several females' territories, 1.8 square miles. 

During most of the year, pandas communicate by rubbing an acidic-smelling substance on tree trunks and stones. They also scratch on trees. Each panda's scent is unique and pandas use the scent to identify each other. Females leave scent to attract males, and males leave scent to mark their territory and to attract females. Pandas also communicate vocally and we did hear them make a variety of grunting type noises. They have up to 11 distinct calls. 

One of the reasons for the scarcity of Pandas is that their breeding season is very short.  Pandas breed once a year. Mating season is from March to May and individual females are in heat for only 2 to 7 days. Mothers deliver their babies during August to September. The Panda will produce one or two babies but the mother will often choose the strongest one to nurture as she is unable to care for more than one. Baby pandas weigh only 3.5 to 4 oz. at birth - about 1/900^th of its mother's weight. Cubs are born blind and open their eyes at about 45 days. Young cubs need to nurse as many as 12 times per day. At birth, pandas have white skin. Within 2 weeks, their skin turns gray where eventually the hair will be black. Cubs have panda fur coloration within one month after birth.

The cubs starts to crawl at 75 to 90 days and can start to eat bamboo at 5 months and are weaned at 6 months. The cub weighs 80 pounds at one year and lives with its mother until 18 months. Panda's reach sexually maturity when they are 4.5 to 6.5 years old.

Pandas are the second most threatened species in the world. Only about 1000- 1700 pandas are estimated to live in the wild.

Destruction of the panda's natural habitat is now the major threat to the survival of the species. However nature also plays a roll. At regular intervals, ranging from 10 to 100 years depending on the species, individual bamboo species flower, seed, and die. Although bamboo regenerates from seed within a year, it can take up to 20 years before the bamboo can support a panda population again. Often, only one species of bamboo grows in an area. When the bamboo species in one area flowers, pandas have to find other species of bamboo to eat. Often they must move to areas where there are other species of bamboo.

  

Panda conservation began in China during the 1940s. This effort was initially restricted to field research. In 1963, the Chinese government created this breeding center in Chendu which now houses approximately 65 Panda Bears.


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