A pair of two-year-old female pandas were released into a nature reserve on Thursday, December 27th after being bred in captivity and trained for a life in the wild.
The two pandas, named Qinxin (“Heart of Qin”) and Xiao Hetao (“Little Walnut”), were released into the wild following final physical examinations including blood tests, ultrasound examinations, parasite examinations, x-rays, feces analysis and body measurements.
They were deemed fit for release into Longxi-Hongkou National Nature Reserve in southwest China after systematic wildlife training, during which they are said to have developed relatively strong survival instincts, since their births in July 2016.
They have mastered basic skills including walking, climbing, finding shelter, and more, according to CCTV.
“Through our more than two years of training, ‘Qinxin’ and ‘Xiaohetao’ have showed strong abilities in gathering food and avoiding danger in the wild. They have met the basic requirements to be released into the wild,” said Liu Xiaoqiang, head of the animal management department of the Hetaoping Survival Training Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Qinxin and Xiaohetao are the tenth and eleventh captive-bred giant pandas that have been released into the wild and will be tracked with GPS devices.
