| Wolong Giant Panda Preserve | ||
Picture yourself playing with a herd of real live Giant Pandas!
Giant Pandas live in heavily forested mountains above 5,000 foot elevation. In the summer they move up the mountain to cooler weather. In the winter they move down to warmer temperatures. The forests where the Pandas live consists of a combination of conifer and deciduous trees with an undergrowth of rich delicious bamboo. The trees provide housing for the pandas. Partially hollowed tree bottoms provide shelter and a home for sheltering newborn babies from the harsh environment outside.
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Wolong
isn't the only place to see giant pandas, nor is it the most convenient.
But we it is the best location. Researchers here have made more
advances in artificial breeding and raising pandas in captivity than
anywhere in the world. There are presently around 60 or 70 giant pandas
ranging in age from newborn to adult. There are almost always
some youngsters here. This year there is a new crop of 16 babies,
born in July and August! Wolong is located in the high, densely forested mountains between the Sichuan Basin and the Tibetan Plateau. The area has a varied topography that supports a broad range of vegetation and animal life. Among the animals that inhabit the preserve are leopards, macaques, white-lipped deer, or takins.  The Pitiao River runs alongside the Panda enclosures here at Wolong. A tempestuous, roiling river that is characteristic of the streams in this area. Click here to view recent photos of mother and baby pandas at the preserve |
Wolong
is located in the Sichuan Province about 80 miles northwest of Chéngdu
at an elevation above 5,000 feet.
Below is a photo of a red panda. Racoon-like and smaller than the Giant Panda.
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| In the past hunting was the number one cause of reducing the Giant Panda population to critically low numbers. In more recent times, hunting has been severely regulated by the Chinese government. Now the threat is from habitat destruction. As the population of the towns in the Panda areas has increased the Panda habitat has decreased. Villagers have cut firewood in the forests and steadily reduced the area of forests. The Chinese government has implemented regulations and incentives designed to stop this deforestation. |
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Giant Panda Quick Facts - - Life span about 25 years - -Grow to 42" tall & 350 pounds - -Normally only 1 baby is raised to maturity although 2 or 3 may be born. - -Food is mainly 4 bamboo species - - They have the digestive system of a carnivore, so they must eat 12 to 16 hours a day to consume adequate nutrition because their systems cannot process vegetation very well. - - DNA studies place them more closely related to the bear family, not the racoon family, but they now are listed in their own family. - -They do not hibernate. Instead they move up and down the mountainside to regulate thermally. |
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Giant Panda Bears, Blue whales, Whale sharks, Narwhals China, Canada, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Philippine Islands, Mexico, Arctic Circle copyright 2007, Keith Jones No images may be used without written permission of copyright holder California registered seller of travel #2055660-50 Unique vacations normally involving animals, culture and adventure keith@greywhale.com or rowman1998@yahoo.com |
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