Wolong Panda Project
Wolong Nature Preserve
Covering an area of approximately 1200 square miles, the Wolong Nature
Preserve is located around 90 miles (140km) west of Chengdu in South Central China.
Travel from Chengdu goes through the rather famous tourist city of Dujiangyan
boasting an ancient irrigation system dating back 2200 years. This project began
212BC and is still used today to direct the flow of waters from the Min River
into the fertile fields around Chengdu. Beyond the Preserve, to the west, are
snow capped mountains, glaciers, secluded monasteries, the Himalayas, and Tibet.
The trip to the Preserve is arduous and impressive, rising in altitudes
exceeding 3,000 feet and exceeding 15,000 feet near Tibet. The road is being
reconstructed and travels along a newly formed lake, due to a new damn that
blocks the mountainous streams of the Min River. Travel time by bus from
Chengdu takes from 4 to 11 hours, depending upon accidents, mudslides, and
snow storms in the winter. The scenery is spectacular with rivers, waterfalls, and bamboo forests.
The Wolong Panda Institute occupies a few acres in the Preserve and has
developed an international reputation for reproductive research and
a successful breeding program for the Giant Panda.
From 1974 to 1989 half of the region's forest resources - habitat for the Great Panda -
were depleted. This depletion provided justification and incentive for the
government to formally back the creation of the Wolong Panda Preserve in the 80s.
The government now supports 40% of the Preserve’s
budget and openly punishes, in some cases by death, the capture or killing of any Panda.
The balance of the Institute’s budget is supported by the World Wildlife Fund and numerous
smaller organizations, as well as individuals, who have a fondness for these animals.
Other organizations, such as National Geographic Society, have recently reported on significant activities
at the Institute:
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0607/feature1/
As a side note, the Fort Lauderdale-based EDSU organization has recently
signed a contract with the China-United Nations Environment Fund to build an ecotourism visitor's center at Wolong.
The setting is idyllic: mild days, cool nights, cloud forests,
and the poetically sinuous Arrow Bamboo, the primary food for the Great Panda: the Wolong Nature Preserve is also home
to a few wild Great Pandas, some re-introduced by the Institute, as well as the Red Panda,
Temminck’s tragopan, golden monkeys, and purportedly, the nearly extinct Snow Leopard.
Wolong Panda Institute Project
Wild Spots Foundation and Dr. Barry Barker, Chair of the Environmental Science/Studies Program at
Nova Southeastern University (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), in cooperation with the famous Wolong Panda
Institute in the Sichuan Province of China, offer an impressive opportunity to spend 8 days in China
with 4days/3nights at the Wolong Panda Institute to photograph and/or volunteer at the institute.
Participants have three options: to spend the entire time photographing Pandas, to spend the
entire time volunteering - helping to feed and maintain the Pandas, or to split the time and
do both. (For those interested in a more serious commitment to volunteer or intern:
arranged to spend up to 10 days at the Institute working. There is a $300 registration fee required from each volunteer.)
The Wolong Panda Institute is the world leader in
Panda reproductive research, release programs, and maintaining a healthy population of Giant Pandas.
Classroom teachers are invited to photograph and/or become volunteers, college
students can elect the experience and become interns, even
middle and high school aged students (must be accompanied by at least one adult parent) can participate.
For photographers of all skill levels, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get
incredible photographs of the Great Panda, document its feeding habits,
record its daily set of activities, as well as the infra structure that supports these animals.
For teachers and students, it is an occasion to contribute time and
energy in
maintaining a healthy population of Pandas, as well as learning about
the biology, ecology, and behavior of these incredible animals.
For wildlife enthusiasts and eco-travelers from 18-81, this is an opportunity to come face to face with an
endangered species, naturally limited to the bamboo forest ecosystem in China.
THE WOLONG JOURNEY
Panda UPDATE 7/8/08
This good news just in from Richard Chin:
Two days ago one of the Pandas transferred to Ya An Reserve from Wolong gave birth to twins.
This is the first Panda to give birth this year.
Panda UPDATE 6/11/08
Wild Spots Foundation has accepted an invitation to bring volunteers to the Sichuan area of China
that was hit hard by the recent earthquakes.
The Wolong Panda Preserve was only 18 miles from the epicenter of the recent earthquake. All of the roads providing access to the reserve are destroyed, making the reserve inaccessible, except by a few hazardous dirt paths. It has been virtually impossible to get supplies into the area. Local bamboo food supplies have also ceased, as the people attempt to deal with their personal loses.
Dr. Barry W. Barker, President of Wild Spots Foundation, received news that five Wolong staff members were killed in the quake, several pandas were missing, and the facilities suffered major damage. Names were not available, but they were reportedly staff members who help with the foreign volunteers who fed and cleaned the pandas. In addition, two pandas are still missing and nearly all of the Wolong panda enclosures were destroyed or suffered major damage.
According to Barker the devastation was worst than initially reported. “Our contacts in Chengdu report catastrophic infrastructure damage to the internationally known Wolong Panda Preserve: panda enclosures, animal hospitals/clinics, tourist hotels and bridges are all damaged or destroyed. Food and medical supplies are desperately needed. It is also reported that the baby pandas are learning to eat congee because of the food shortage.
“Some of the Wolong Pandas have been moved to Beijing for the Olympics, while others have been relocated to a smaller preserve near Chengdu, known as Ya’an. Wild Spots Foundation will be sending volunteers to both Chengdu and Ya’an,” Barker added.
Wild Spots volunteers will depart for Chengdu on September 20, and travel to the Panda Garden in Bifengaxia, Ya'an.
Over the next few days, all volunteers will assist with the care of pandas. Accommodations will be provided in Shangli,
a village approximately 18 miles away, as there are no accommodations at Panda Garden. The group will then return to
Chengdu, where they will have an opportunity to spend time at the Chengdu Panda Reproductive Center before returning to the United States.
Wild Spots Foundation, www.wildspotsfoundation.org, has supported trips to the Wolong Panda Reserve and the
Chengdu Reproductive Center for several years, and is dedicated to raising awareness of the panda relief effort
through education and photographic documentation. Volunteers of all experience backgrounds, skill levels, and
age groups are invited to join this group.
Panda UPDATE 5/05/08
Richard Chin, our WSF representative in Chengdu sadly reported 5/20/08 that five Wolong staff
members were killed in the quake. Names were not available, but they were reportedly staff members who
help with the foreign volunteers who fed and cleaned the pandas. In addition, three pandas are
missing and nearly half of the Wolong panda enclosures were destroyed.
The Telegraph.co.uk reported that Hundreds (note: actually there are fewer than 100 there) of giant
pandas had to be rescued as the Chinese earthquake devastated the Wolong nature reserve.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1988014/China-earthquake-pandas-rescued.html
Christine Dell’Amore from the National Geographic reported that in the minutes before a massive
earthquake shook central China on Monday, captive pandas near the epicenter began acting strangely,
according to an eyewitness account released 5/21.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080515-pandas-quake.html
Urgent note: we will begin photographing the devastation
and the reconstruction as soon as permission is received... probably at the end of Sept or beginning of October.
The fall trip will be to Chengdu and the Chengdu Panda Reproductive Center. We need volunteers to photograph and write.
DONATE via WSF to Help the Wolong Pandas
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