China to Release First Panda Into the Wild

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060427/ap_on_re_as/china_pandas_3;_ylt=AkLsVE9HyUcuA0qyeaFVyVflWMcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

China to Release First Panda Into the Wild

Thu Apr 27, 6:52 PM ET

A panda research center in southwest China is planning its first release into the wild of a panda bred in captivity, the official Xinhua News Agency said Thursday.

Xiang Xiang, a 4-year-old male raised at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in Sichuan province, will be released Friday after almost three years of training and will be tracked by a Global Positioning System device, Xinhua said.

His experience "will help scientists study how artificially raised pandas adapt to the wild," Zhang Hemin, the center's head, was quoted as saying.

Xiang Xiang, whose name means auspicious, began training in 2003 and has learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark his territory.

"He has also developed defensive skills by howling and biting just as a wild giant panda would do," Zhang said.

Training began in a 215,000-square-foot open-air facility and he was later transferred to an area 10 times the size to simulate a natural habitat, he said.

Xiang Xiang is being released at the height of the season for bamboo shoots, making it easier for him to find food, Zhang said.

Pandas are among the most recognized — but rarest — animals in the world. About 1,600 survive in the mountain forests of central China and more than 180 live in captivity.

Pandas are threatened by loss of habitat, poaching and a low reproduction rate. Females in the wild normally have a cub once every two to three years.

Dermot O'Gorman, China representative for the World Wildlife Fund, said while Xiang Xiang's release was a significant move, protecting panda habitats are of "critical importance."

"Fragmentation of the panda areas is a real problem," O'Gorman said. "Not being able to move across the habitat because of human disturbance is a problem for pandas."

This got me thinking.

Wouldn't it make sense to have 2 reserves for Panda's on opposite ends of the planet? I know they have an Elephant one here in the U.S.. But, what if something like a virus sweeps over the population in China? Also, that would make a good exchange program to mix up the bloodlines.