Feature: Giant panda to be released to nature after wilderness training

Xiangxiang, a born-in-captivity giant panda, has been enjoying a king's life in a secluded bamboo forest in Southwest China, undergoing wilderness training that's likely to result in being set free in the wild, said a senior panda researcher.

The four-year-old Xiangxiang lives in a 20,000-square-meter compound in a mountainous area at Wolong Virgin Forest Reserve in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

China has been engaging in wilderness training for giant pandas born in captivity, in the hope that they can survive in the wild.

Xiangxiang, which means "auspicious" in Chinese, was born in August 2001. He's the world's first giant panda raised in captivity to receive such wildlife training.

Roaming around in a forest of bamboo, Xiangxiang looks strong and handsome with a contrasting black and white coat, the unique colors of the giant panda.

With more than a year's training, Xiangxiang has learned how to live by himself and has developed an obvious consciousness of his territory. He tries to drive away anyone who enters his territory by howling and biting just as a wild giant panda would do.

"The attention to his surroundings indicates that Xiangxiang is now used to living alone which has improved his chances of surviving in the wild," said Liu Bin, a zoologist who raised Xiangxiang at the training center.

Xiangxiang now weighs over 100 kilograms and has gained 20 kilograms since his wilderness training began. He's in good health and is living independently, according to the expert.

"It's marvelous that Xiangxiang even has learned where to sleep," Liu said. "This may help him increase his ability to deal with problems in the wild including food-hunting and disease prevention."

Early in his wildlife training, Xiangxiang didn't know how to find food and relied on researchers to feed him, Liu recalled.

"We trained Xiangxiang with the aim of removing his dependence on humans for food so he'll get a chance to know his peers in the wild," he said.

"Now, Xiangxiang, is good at choosing the right food that ripens in different seasons, he also has an ability to choose food that tastes best," he added.

Chinese zoologists have decided to release Xiangxiang to the wild at the end of this year. He will be the first giant panda to be fully released in the country's giant panda recovery project.

The project, with an estimated cost of at least 300 million yuan (about 37.5 million U.S. dollars), focuses on teaching giant pandas to live in the wild before releasing them back to nature.

Xiangxiang was first put in a wilderness training center on July 8, 2003 and was later transferred to the larger and more wild 20,000-square meter compound closer represents his natural environment. The project is managed by the Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center.

Co-sponsored by the Chinese government and the World Nature Fund, the center was established in 1980 in Wolong Nature Reserve. The center has has successfully bred 57 panda cubs since 1991, 45 of which have survived.

Over 160 giant pandas are now living in captivity, and 1,590 live in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the statistics of the Chinese Administration of Forestry. Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species.

Some scientists and zoologists say the natural instincts of giant pandas raised in captivity has degenerated, and some show no willingness to procreate. Only 24 percent of female pandas in captivity became pregnant and gave birth, according to the center's zoologists.

Most giant pandas in captivity are artificially inseminated, the expert said.

Source: Xinhua