Jin Zhu

On July 29, Giant Panda Jin Zhu gave birth to a cub at the Hetaoping reintroduction training base in Wolong. This is the 4th cub (in the 3rd litter) born at the CCRCGP this year, after Su Lin and Xi Xi's cubs. Jin Zhu gave birth to the cub in a semi-wild enclosure, which will contribute to the reintroduction program.

In the early hours of July 29, researchers noticed, via the infrared cam, Jin Zhu showing signs of imminent birth such as pawing and biting at tree branches, groaning, etc. Her water broke at 9:58 a.m. At 11 a.m., Jin Zhu, went back to the den built against a rock. At 1:09 p.m., she gave birth to a cub in the den. Currently, both Jin Zhu and the cub are doing well.

Jin Zhu was transferred to the Hetaoping base on March 11 after having been bred at the Bifengxia Panda base in Ya'an. She was moved into a semi-wild enclosure early this month and her activity level and other physiological indexes were normal.

Zhang Ka and cub

Zhang Ka gave birth to twins on August 20 in a semi-wild enclosure at Bifengxia (BFX). The cubs were born 8 hours apart. The first cub was born at 8.50 a.m. and the second, born at 4:51 p.m., is a female, weighing 137.4 gram at birth. Zhang Ka mated with Bai Yang on March 22, 23 and gave birth 5 months later. Workers have built several dens for her in the enclosure and she chose the one with its back towards humans. There are three semi-wild enclosures at BFX and some of the cubs born at BFX will be trained in the semi-wild enclosures as part of the reintroduction training program. Researchers will select six females, if possible, to participate in the training, apparently three at Hetaoping and three at BFX. Researcher will also make comparisons of the mothers and cubs in the semi-wild enclosures at Hetaoping and BFX. So far six cubs in four litters have been born at Hetaoping and BFX.

Fu Wa

Fu Wa, also known as Mao Mao, has given birth to a female cub at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on August 1, 2011 at 5:07 AM. The cub weighed 170 grams at birth and is in good health.

Mao Mao was not very successful at caring for her first born cub in 2008, but she was much more successful with this birth.

Qi Zhen's cubs

Qi Zhen gave birth to her fourth set of twins on August 4, 2011 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The first born is a female weighing 152g. The second born is a male weighing 122g. Qi Zhen, the daughter of Mei Mei, gave birth to twins in 2006, 2008 and 2010. She has also a twin sister Qi Yuan.

Qing He

10-year-old Giant Panda Qing He gave birth to a male cub on August 4, 2011, at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. This birth came several hours after the successful delivery of twin cubs to Qi Zhen.
In the spring Qing He mated with male Giant Pandas at the Chengdu Panda Base and was also artificially inseminated. The artificial insemination was performed as it was not clear if the matings had been successful.
After an approximate 100 day gestation period, her water broke at 18:30 on August 4th and at 19:52 she delivered a male cub. The newborn male weighs 165.8g.

Tao Tao

Today, on August 3, Tao Tao, the first Giant Panda born in a semi-wild reintroduction training enclosure, is one year old! At present Tao Tao weighs about 25 kilograms and is healthy and developing normally, with a constitution obviously stronger than that of cubs in captivity. Tao Tao also has much better skills needed to survive in the wild, such as climbing, foraging, water-seeking skills and the sense of direction, than captive cubs, and is initially capable of surviving in the wild. His mother, Cao Cao, is healthy, weighing 112 kg. Over the past years Tao Tao and his mother have stood up to severe tests of geological disasters and extreme weather conditions. Currently both the mother and cub are doing well, quite accustomed to their lives in the reintroduction training enclosure and one-year-old Tao Tao is thriving without any manmade food.

After he was born, Tao Tao initially lived with his mother in a 2,400-square-meter semi-wild enclosure for the first stage of the reintroduction training. During this time, Tao Tao had learned basic surviving skills such as walking and climbing in a semi-wild environment and was vigilant and wild enough to avoid humans and fight off wild animals like the masked civet. In line with the training plan, Tao Tao and his mother Cao Cao were transferred to a 20,000-square-meter enclosure for the second stage of the training. This enclosure provides them with a much larger and much more complex living space that will help them learn more skills to survive in the wild, such as habitat selection and use, how to choose and obtain food and how to recognize and avoid potential dangers. In the new enclosure the researchers use infrared cameras combined with GIS (Geographic Information System), radio location and GPS tracking devices, and RFID Access Control System to monitor Tao Tao and Cao Cao and collect comprehensive data on them. During this period of training, researchers also conduct research, such as monitoring Cao Cao's progestational and stress hormones, making comparisons of the growth and development of panda cubs, comparisons of mother-cub behavior of panda mothers and cubs. During the process of the training, the researchers also take care to disguise their shape and scent, in order to minimize human impact on Tao Tao.

Based on the study of wild pandas, it's estimated that Tao Tao will leave his mother to live on his own at about two years of age. According to the training plan, the trained pandas have to go through three stages of reintroduction training before being released into the wild. Tao Tao is expected to be transferred to a much larger enclosure for the third stage of the reintroduction training late this year or early next year.

Maya

Thomas

Dear Pandas International,

The reason I started collecting for Pandas is because I went to the Bronx Zoo in New York and I was looking for Pandas. I realized they weren't there and asked someone who worked there. She said they didn't have Pandas because they were extremely endangered. I did some research and discovered Pandas International. I liked your ideas about how you help the Pandas and my parents bought me a Pennies 4 Pandas kit. I started raising money in July 2010 and set a goal for $200 by selling lemonade, ice pops, and going door to door with my parents. I am proud to say I raised $268.47. I am very happy with the money I raised and I hope next time to raise more.

Good luck with the Pandas!!
Thomas, age 10

Wild panda and her cub

From the more than 100 pictures taken by the infrared cameras in Sanjiang, another picture has been released showing a mother and her cub. The area where the Giant Pandas have been observed has been closed to the public.