Why not!  The Royal Zoological Society of South Australia is a conservation organisation with a reputation for strong conservation programs.  As the international symbol for the conservation movement for over 30 years, the Giant panda is a logical species for us to work with.  By achieving the conservation objectives of this project our organisation can have a greater impact on the conservation of biodiversity at Wolong, a UNESCO world heritage region.

Extending the captive insurance population of Giant panda outside its range state minimises the impact of unpredictable events such as fire, disease or natural disaster affecting the primary captive populations located at three captive breeding centres in China.  In addition, there have been significant improvements in breeding Giant pandas at the conservation breeding centres at Wolong with a limited number of these animals becoming real candidates for reintroduction.

The cooperative conservation agreement between The Royal Zoological Society of South Australia (RZSSA), the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant panda, Wolong (CCRCW) and the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) has a number of conservation objectives.  Significantly, the training of key staff from Wolong Centre and the CWCA will be our primary focus, undertaking extensive training and internships in Adelaide in a variety of disciplines including:

• Wild animal disease diagnosis and prevention
• Protected area management
• Conservation Biology
• Veterinary nursing
• Ecotourism
• Laboratory techniques

With our partners, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, the University of South Australia and TAFESA, we will provide training programs / courses for our colleagues in the front line of conservation in China.  Already achieving significant improvements in Giant panda conservation these technical staff will return to their roles armed with additional skills to further improve the biodiversity conservation in this fragile ecosystem.

Adelaide Zoo has a long and successful history managing a wide range of carnivores, including Red panda and several ursids (bear species).  We have the technical capabilities, professional staff and strong scientific links with South Australian Universities and TAFESA that will play a large part in delivering tangible conservation outcomes.

First we have to build them an exhibit which will take more than a year to construct. We are hoping to have Wang Wang and Funi with us in 2009.

The two Giant pandas coming to Adelaide Zoo are a genetically important pairing.  It is hoped that “Wangwang” (male) and “Funi” (female) will breed successfully at Adelaide Zoo when they reach sexual maturity after 2009/10.

The RZSSA has one of the best records in breeding lesser / Red panda and bears in the world.  Our keepers and veterinary staff are experienced and knowledgeable in carnivore husbandry and health management.  In addition, our staff and management are committed to further developing the necessary skills to manage this species, as we would with any other new species entering our care.

Furthermore, Chinese authorities do not approve the transfer of Giant panda out of China without first thoroughly reviewing the technical credentials of the receiving zoo. To that end, experts from the Department of International Cooperation (China Wildlife Conservation Association), China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant panda, Wolong and the State Forestry Department have visited Adelaide Zoo to inspect our facilities and are providing their full support for the project.

Our Chinese colleagues have extensive experience managing this species in captivity. We will send our staff to Wolong Centre to train in Giant panda husbandry and health management.  Our staff will also visit Giant panda facilities in the U.S. to learn and apply skills and techniques developed in climates comparative to those in South Australia.

Adelaide Zoo has an extensive 14 hectare browse plantation at Bolivar, 20 minutes drive from Adelaide Zoo, that will be used to grow up to five species of bamboo in addition to browse for our extensive animal collection.  Bamboo grows exceptionally well in Adelaide, with our cold wet winters and warm summers suiting the growing conditions of many species.  While the plantation matures, we have sourced supplementary bamboo locations around Adelaide.

There are risks with any long haul transport either human or non-human.  Every effort will be made to minimise harm to the Giant pandas. Adelaide Zoo undertakes hundreds of animal movements each year, both nationally and internationally, and we are confident that the Giant panda transport will be organised professionally.

The Giant pandas will be housed in a brand new facility to be specifically designed for their particular physical, social and behavioural requirements.

Although South Australia is warmer than Wolong, Giant pandas are an adaptable species and they will acclimatize very quickly to our conditions.  Adelaide Zoo will ensure that the exhibit design provides features to eliminate any discomfort caused by warm weather.  The South Australian climate is similar to that experienced by San Diego Zoo, where they have successfully bred and managed Giant pandas for many years.  Adelaide Zoo will study a majority of the international Giant panda centres to help us design our facilities and management plan.

Giant panda are not a priority species for the Australasian Species Management Program (ASMP) and no regional zoo currently intends to exhibit this species.  The carnivore TAG (Taxon Advisory Group) recommends all available bear spaces be dedicated to Sun bear (Adelaide Zoo is the holder of the regional Sun bear studbook) as the priority managed species for this region.  Adelaide Zoo has allocated significant resources to this program with a recent import of a breeding female illustrating our commitment.   There are no plans for a sustainable population of Giant panda in this region.  Any offspring bred at Adelaide Zoo will be returned to China (Wolong Centre) to contribute to the primary conservation population there.

Zoos SA remains committed to the conservation of Australian native species as demonstrated by our latest program for the black-flanked rock-wallaby, South Australia’s most endangered species.  Only 60 are thought to remain in the wild.  Our staff recently cross-fostered 14 joeys of this endangered species into the pouches of yellow-footed rock-wallabies, to help establish a new captive insurance population.  For more information about our conservation and research programs, please review the conservation section of this website.

There are over 200 Giant pandas in captivity, a majority of these are in China with small populations in zoos outside of China including  Atlanta Zoo (U.S.), National Zoo (U.S.), San Diego Zoo (U.S.), Tokyo Zoo (Japan), Vienna Zoo (Austria), Chiang Mai (Thailand) and soon Adelaide Zoo (Australia).

One pair of Giant panda visited for 3 months each at Taronga Zoo (Sydney), Melbourne Zoo (Melbourne) and Auckland Zoo (New Zealand) in 1988 as part of the bicentennial celebrations.

A man named Sima Qian, a famous historian in China, recorded the first successful breeding 4,000 years ago.  He wrote in “Historic Files: Five Emperors” that the Huang Di Emperor, chief of a tribe in the ancient times, ordered his men to raise and train tigers, leopards, black bears and Pixiu (Giant pandas) to help fight against another tribe chief Yan Di Emperor at Banquan (today’s Zhulu Country, Hebei Province) and won the war.  Sima Xiangru, an established writer of Han Dynasty mentioned in his Shanglin Prose that there were more than 40 rare species including Mo (Giant pandas) raised in captivity in Shanglin Garden, a royal game hunting place in Shaanxi since Qin Dynasty.

The first breeding outside of China is attributed to the Chicago Zoo of the U.S. in the 1930s.

In 1938, the Giant panda was transported from Baoxin County to the People’s Park in Beipei in the city of Chongqing for exhibition, thus starting the history of Giant panda breeding in modern times in China.  It was in 1953 that Giant pandas were formally raised and exhibited in zoos, when Chengdu Zoo received a Giant panda cub from Guan County of Sichuan (today’s Dujiangyan City).

Carnivora.

The debate on its family status has been going on for 130 years and no consensus has yet been reached. Before 1980’s three schools of thought existed arguing it belongs to Ursidae (with other bears), Ailuridae (with Red Pandas) and Procyonidae (which includes Racoons) respectively.  Later, they gradually merged to two schools, that of Ursidae and Ailuridae.

Besides the common colour black and white, there are some exceptions or colour variations.  Brown Giant pandas were witnessed in Foping and Changqing Nature Reserve of Shaan’xi Province and a pure white Giant panda was also reported at Pingwu County, Sichuan Province.

The Giant pandas tail is very short.  There is a hairless patch at the bottom of the tail, which has many glands densely distributed in it.  The rest of the tail is covered with long fluffy hair, making it look big and fatty.  The tail often presses close to the body, forming a protective cover for its glands, anus and vulvae.  When tail glands, anal glands and vulvae produce secretions, the tail is also used as a brush to spread the secretion as information marks.

It has 24 deciduous teeth and 40 - 42 permanent teeth.

It has 5 toes on each front and hind foot.  There is also a false thumb on it front foot, which has evolved from the seamiod bone.  This false thumb helps it to grasp its food firmly.

It is approximately 650-750 mm high at shoulder 640-650 mm high at the hips.

It is approximately 1.2m-1.8m long.

Wild Giant pandas weigh 60 -73kg with the heaviest reaching 110kg.  Giant pandas in captivity weigh between 80 -125kg with the heaviest reaching 181.5kg.

It is 120mm -200mm long.

Yes.  The male is about 18% larger than the female in size.

Four nipples in two pairs.

They are living in high mountains and deep valleys of six major mountains ranges, namely Qinling Mountains in Shaan’xi province, Minshan Mountains in Sichuan and Gansu Province, Qionglai Mountains, Daxiangling Mountains, Xiaoxiangling Mountains and Liangshan Mountains in Sichuan Province. They prefer flat gully ends, river valley terraces and gentle slopes which are quiet, close to water, have abundant food, moderately dense bamboos and good vegetation cover with tall trees.

According to the third national survey on Giant pandas, the total area of Giant pandas habitat is about 23,000 square kilometres.

According to the third national survey on Giant pandas, there are about 1,600 Giant pandas in the wild.

They usually live at an altitude between 2,000 and 3,000 metres above sea level.  Pressure from urbanization limits their expansion below 1,300 metres, but habitat at this altitude would certainly support them.  The maximum altitude they can usually adjust to is 3,200 -3,500 metres above sea level, but in some special cases they have reached 4,000 metres altitude.

It is the typical mountain temperate climate that is warm and humid with abundant rainfall and infrequent extremes of heat.

The main competitors are the Lesser / Red pandas, Bamboo rats, Black bears, Wild boars, Badgers, Porcupines, Takins, and Gorals.

They are Leopards, Clouded leopards, Jackals, Golden cats and Yellow-throated martins.

They are active both in the daytime and at night. They spend 41% of the day (10 hours) sleeping and 59% active (14 hours).

No, generally speaking, they live a solitary, nomadic life.  They only get together for short periods of time in spring for mating and breeding.  After that, they return to their own home territories.

The area varies according to sex and age of the Giant panda.  In general, a male Giant panda’s home territory is about 6 -7km2  which is a little bit larger than that of a female’s, which might be 4 -5 km2.  The home territory of a sub-adult Giant panda is about 4 -6km2.

No.

Like all animals found at high altitude, Giant panda would be uncomfortable in temperatures above 32oC.  In captivity, facilities are designed to accommodate all their environmental requirements. San Diego Zoo experiences similar climate conditions to Adelaide.  Extensive reviews of other Giant panda facilities have been made by zoo management and our experienced architects to ensure that Wangwang and Funi have the best facilities available.

Yes.  They are very accomplished tree climbers.  Giant pandas spend many hours resting in trees and use this technique to avoid predators.  Baby Giant pandas learn to climb trees while very young.

Giant pandas scent mark their territory using anal gland secretions and urine on rocks and tree trunks along the boundaries of their territory.  With an excellent sense of smell, Giant pandas can easily distinguish their own territories from others.

In the wild, the new born cubs sleep in the warm tree holes or rock caves that are prepared by their mothers.  When growing bigger, their favorite choice is sleeping in trees, which protect them from the attacks of their natural predators.  Adult Giant pandas like to sleep wherever they stop.  However, they prefer a place where they can lean back on something such as a big tree or fallen trunks.

According to research, the average life expectancy of wild Giant pandas is 19 years, with the highest reaching 26 years.  In captivity it is 20 –30 years on average with the oldest reaching 37 years and 3 months.

99% of their food is bamboo of various kinds grown in the forest.  Only 1% is other vegetable or meat.

They consume about 17kg of bamboo stems per day or 10 -14kg of bamboo leaves, or about 40kg of bamboo shoots.

Giant pandas have evolved to live on a diet of mainly bamboo.  Although bamboo has a low nutritive value, it is green all year round and easy to get.  There are fewer food competitors in the bamboo forests than elsewhere.  So it provides a stable and abundant food supply at any time of the year.

In Shaanxi Province and Sichuan Province there is a total of 63 species of bamboo belonging to 12 families.

It is arrow bamboo (Bashania fangiana).

The digestion rate of bamboo is fairly low at about 17%.  This is because the digestive system of Giant pandas is not as suitable as that of herbivores to digest vegetation.  Also, Giant panda don’t fully chew the bamboo and do not have rumination like many herbivores.

It depends on which part of the bamboo is eaten. It takes 5 hours to digest bamboo shoots, 10 hours for stems and 14 hours for leaves to be excreted out of the body.

Other plants that Giant pandas sometimes eat include farm crops such as corn stems and needle-free wheat; wild fruits such as kiwi fruit and wild loquats; herbs such as Chinese angelica and celery.  When large areas of bamboo die out after blossom, due to severe food shortage and acute sense of hunger, Giant pandas even feed on Notoptergium incisium, barks of Abies and decayed wood.  Some roam onto farmland to eat pig feed or human manure.  Non-plant foods which are sometimes eaten include corpses of animals killed by traps or by other animals like leopards, small animals preyed by themselves such as bamboo rats and birds, or even domestic goats.  Sometimes they eat charcoal in the woods or lick and bite metal-ware in the village.  Giant pandas are mentioned as “iron-eating beast” and recorded eating iron or copper by many ancient books.

There are four measures.  The first is to eat in huge amounts, to rapidly digest and to excrete waste in large volumes.  The second is to choose the best variety and plant part according to season.  For instance, they take tender parts of the bamboo, which have more nutrition and less fibre when it is available.  The third is to feed on the protein-rich remains of animal bodies left by other predators or small animals they have caught by themselves. The fourth is to reduce their own energy consumption.

Bamboo is the primary food source for the Giant panda. The flowering and dying-off of bamboo cause food shortage for Giant pandas.

Flowering is a normal part of the life cycle of bamboo plants. According to the research results of botanists, arrow bamboo flower once every 60 years.

Wild female Giant pandas are sexually mature at the age of 5.5 -6.5yr and wild males at 6 –7yr.  Giant pandas in captivity mature up to a year earlier as the living conditions and nutrition are better.

Once a year.

It is generally in spring.  However, it is also affected by abnormal climate, the latitude and altitude of their habitat.

No. They are polygamous.

It is roughly 1:1.

The glandular secretions and urine are different when they are in oestrus.  Males respond by tracking the females by scent and vocalisation.

Generally it lasts 2 -4 days. However it can be as short as 1 hour or as long as 7 days.

It is difficult getting Giant panda females to enter oestrus and mate in captivity.  Even after mating, they often do not get pregnant.

5 months in average, though it can vary from 83 days to 324 days.

Usually Giant pandas mate in spring and give birth in autumn, especially from August to September. In rare cases, they deliver in the next spring. There has been only one case like this so far in Wolong.

A female Giant panda in the wild could have 6 babies in her lifetime.  The number of babies born in captivity could be double that of the wild because the living conditions in captivity are better, (which causes earlier sexual maturity,) cubs are weaned at 5 months of age and mating is guaranteed by combining natural and artificial insemination.

For wild Giant pandas, it is common that only one is delivered at a time. Twins are quite rare.  In captivity Giant pandas give birth to one or two cubs in most cases. Triplets are rare.

The possibility of twins is as high as 50% for Giant pandas in captivity.

It will take good care of her cub if it is a single cub. However the mother will only choose the strongest to feed and will abandon the others if twins or triplets are born. This is the so called “cub-abandon behaviour” of Giant pandas.

It is very tiny with a body of 15 -17cm long, a tail of 4.5 -5.2cm long and hind feet of 2.2-2.5cm long, weighing around 36-296 grams (about 1/993 of their mother’s weight).  Its eyes are tightly closed. It is pink in colour with sparse white hair.  It can neither stand nor creep. However it can raise its head high and make a loud sound.

About 2 months.

It begins to open eyes about 40 days after birth.  They have their eyes wide open after about 50 days.  It begins to have the sense of sight after 70-90 days.

It begins to respond to sound at about 75 days after birth.  This gradually develops to a good sense of hearing.

The cub begins to grow teeth at about three months after birth. Its deciduous teeth are fully grown when it is 6 months old.

Its deciduous teeth start to fall out when it is about 8 months old. At 15-17 months, the deciduous teeth are fully replaced by permanent teeth.

In natural conditions, a cub depends on its mother’s milk for full nutrition from its birth to about 7 months and stops drinking milk at 10-11 months. In captivity, lactation is stopped when the cub is 5-6 months old.

One method is to let them watch videos of other mothers caring for their babies to increase their perceptual knowledge.  Another is to give the mothers toys of Giant pandas to practice with in order to cultivate their love and gain baby-caring skills.  When conditions are right, the cubs will be returned to them for care with human assistance.

No, males do not help the females in caring for the young.  They go away after mating, leaving the females to take full responsibility for pregnancy as well as delivering, caring and training the cubs, etc.

Giant panda babies leave their mothers and start their own lives at the age of 1.5 years.  However they still stay in their mother’s home range.  At the age of 2.5 years old, they leave their mother’s home range and create their own territory.

In 1963.

Altogether 56 by the end of 2006.

The first field observation station – Wuyipeng – was founded in 1978 in Wolong National Natural Reserve. It is at an altitude of 2,520 metres.

1. Establish nature reserves to protect the Giant panda’s natural habitat.
2. Pass laws to make the protection of Giant pandas compulsory.
3. Enforce natural forest protection and ‘grain to green’ project to protect and expand the habitats of Giant pandas.
4. Create corridors for the fragmented small populations to migrate freely so that a larger group for breeding will be formed, thus creating conditions for gene exchanges and preventing the loss of genetic diversity.
5. Conduct ex-situ (in captivity) protection and multi-displinary research.
6. Conduct trials and research to release captive Giant pandas back to natural environment.

On 9th September 1963 Giant panda “Mingming” was born at Beijing Zoo. This was the first Giant panda born in captivity in modern times.

On 8th September 1978, Giant panda “Yuanjing” was born at Beijing Zoo through artificial insemination.

Difficulties include teaching captive Giant pandas how to create their territory in the wild, how to select food to meet their nutritional needs, how to recognize and escape from natural predators and how to deal with diseases, etc.

Yes.

At present, the Chinese government is taking effective and appropriate conservation measures and research on Giant pandas and is making continuous breakthroughs. Habitats of Giant pandas are quite stable and their population is steadily increasing.

First and the most ideal one is to protect their habitats. Second is to conduct artificial breeding by zoos and research centers to increase the captive Giant panda population. Third is the combination of the first two measures, namely to release captive-bred Giant pandas back to the wild to enhance wild Giant panda population while protecting their natural habitats.

In 1981, after the signing of the agreement between China and WWF, the “China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant pandas” was built at Hetaoping, Wolong National Natural Reserve, and the Center was completed in 1983.

From its creation to 2006 the Centre altogether has had 73 births of 109 cubs. 94 cubs survived.  The most productive year was 2006, a total of 12 births of 19 cubs were bred, and 18 cubs survived.

On July 12th 2006, in the 30th session of world heritage board meeting, it was unanimously passes that “Sichuan Giant panda Habitat” would be listed as a world natural heritage site. The world natural heritage of “Sichuan Giant panda Habitat” covers Wolong, Siguniang Mountain and Jiajin Mountains, with a  total area of 9,245 km2 .

On March 11th 1869.

It was a Frenchman named Armand David. He was a missionary and a specimen collector for a museum.