Tuesday, December 06, 2016

Panda


During my time at university, when spare time was as common as my accent, I would spend hours watching panda videos on YouTube. Pandas sneezing, rolling down hills and throwing themselves off a slide were personal favourites. Every second of footage made my eyes water with cuteness overload. They looked unlike anything I had ever seen, it was almost impossible to believe that they weren't men dressed in suits fooling us all.

For five years I planned a trip to China, I would climb the Great Wall, take a selfie with the Terracotta Warriors and stroll down the bund. But, most importantly, I would spend a day at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding... and it was more than I could have imagined.



Pandas have fast become a symbol of China. Now we will make no assumptions that animal welfare is China's most pressing concern, pandas are a tourist attraction - and that is most likely the sole reason for their survival. And it worked, because I flew 5,700 miles just to see them.

The amount of science involved in making pandas breed is exhausting. Female pandas are only in heat once a year and are normally only in the mood for a few days. Not to mention they live off bamboo, which makes their milk a terrible nutrient for newborns. Now I'm no expert, but that sounds like bad odds for panda babies.

I am fully aware of the conservationist argument for letting them die off, and maybe if the situation were different I would wholeheartedly agree. Pandas are notoriously silly, and the amount of money spent on keeping them alive could easily be used for more worthwhile conservation projects. I mean, what's the point of keeping a species alive when it clearly has no concept of how to survive in its natural habitat? But seeing the amount of visitors that flock to the research centre every year, it's easy to see how this conservation programme is working as a tourism business. And of course the most obvious reason being that they are so darn cute.

I thus had a picture in my head that the facility would be one enormous science laboratory, solely for the purpose of pumping out baby pandas on a conveyor belt, sending them to panda nursery until they were old enough to continue the cycle.

But as I turned up at the entrance, feeling like a 5 year old at Disneyland, my predispositions seemed to wash away. The park, and I use the word park because it felt a little Jurassic Parkesque the moment I arrived, has everything you could imagine (minus the dinosaurs and electric fences). Two seconds in and there I was, standing 5 metres away from a panda shovelling bamboo into its mouth. Was it worth it? Yes.

The enclosures were large, covered in thick bush allowing privacy from the prying eyes of tourists. An inside area provided air conditioning when the weather got too hot for them and the breeding programme seems to be in full steam, as I arrived to see 16 baby pandas lying together on a bed - until one shoved another off the end – poor guy.

The crowds were intense, mostly Chinese nationals coming to see their country's homage. I showed no mercy, and persistence paid off as I got prime viewing time at every spot.

There was one unpleasant story I overheard of a hot summer day that resulted in copious complaints from tourists who wanted to see the pandas playing outside. It apparently resulted in staff forcing them out and locking the hatch - meaning roasting pandas banging on doors wanting to go back inside. I attended on a cold winter’s day, so I cannot attribute any validity to that story, but it is definitely something to bear in mind when deciding what time of year to visit. Pandas don't like the heat, and certainly shouldn't be outside in it.

There is no denying it though; I was impressed by what I saw. Hats off to China for creating such an incredibly magical place and bringing a species back from the brink of extinction.

I would go back and see the beautiful bears in a heartbeat.








Share:

17 comments

  1. Beautiful pattern and I guessed right about it being the boy version :) I knew those fun prints you had just purchased were begging to be used in a quilt.

    pop sales theb apps
    pop price guide app best free

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the blog loaded with so many information. Stopping by your blog helped me to get what I was looking for. best app currency converter
    currency converter box free

    ReplyDelete
  3. I used to happily find this web-site. I anticipated that would an obligation of appreciation is all together for your possibility for this remarkable learn!! I unequivocally getting a charge out of every single bit of it and I've you bookmarked to take a gander at new stuff you blog. Thanks
    https://autoketing.com/project/discount-master
    https://apps.shopify.com/discount-master
    https://autoketing.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. You can rest assured your child is playing comfortably on the artificial turf playground. With many years of experience in the field of artificial grass import and distribution, we specialize in providing artificial turf playgrounds such as artificial turf playgrounds, artificial turf playgrounds, artificial turf grass play apartment building, artificial grass playground in the entertainment area ...
    Gái gọi Hoàng Quốc Việt, Gái gọi sinh viên Hà Nội, ảnh sex, Gái gọi Xã Đàn, Đống Đa, Gái gọi Gia Lâm

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've proper selected to build a blog, which I hold been deficient to do for a during. Acknowledges for this inform, it's really serviceable!
    App Shipping Bar Master
    Shipping Bar for Shopify
    autoketing.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. autoketing
    email with love download
    email with love by autoketing
    Best work you have done, this online website is cool with great facts and looks. I have stopped at this blog after viewing the excellent content. I will be back for more qualitative work.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice information, valuable and excellent design, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration, both of which I need, thanks to offer such a helpful information here
    gái gọi, gái gọi cao cấp, hinh sex, Gái gọi Đống Đa, Gái gọi Mỹ Đình

    ReplyDelete
  8. I havent any word to appreciate this post.....Really i am impressed from this post....the person who create this post it was a great human..thanks for shared this with us
    Games Flyordieio
    Free Dynamons evolution
    Crayon shinchan adventure online

    ReplyDelete
  9. Just an fyi for you next time just put them in the oven! I dont fry anything anymore everything that is supposed to be fried gets baked and I actually like it better and its so much healthier for you...Just thought I would share that tip with you.....
    gai goi, Gái gọi Lê Duẩn, Cửa Nam, hình sex, Gái gọi Xã Đàn, Gái gọi Long Biên

    ReplyDelete
  10. 4 player sheep party games
    Gunmaster onslaught games for kid
    Colorzzle games to play
    You’ve made some decent points there. I looked on the internet for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.

    ReplyDelete

  11. food games 2019
    play basketball games
    soccer free online
    You’ve made some decent points there. I looked on the internet for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.

    ReplyDelete
  12. jogos io gratis
    friv free online juegos
    2 player games for boy
    Which is moreover an excellent distribute that we in fact treasured researching. It is not daily that individuals keep the chance to learn a very important factor

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is my first visit to your blog, and I am very impressed with the articles that you serve. Give adequate knowledge for me. Thank you for sharing useful material. I will be back for the more great post. panda cookies cutter

    ReplyDelete
  14. As teddy's go, the panda teddy bear is a very popular one, given the worldwide admiration the population has for these unusual animals. Learning more about the actual panda bear species, is also a lot more interesting when you have an actual panda teddy bear in your possession. panda products

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for the article. it is very meaningful. It helps me to have more knowledge and experience in life nhà cái uy tín số 1

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative.. Panda Dog

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post. Articles that have meaningful and insightful comments are more enjoyable baby panda , at least to me.

    ReplyDelete

© Tales by Tye | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Crafted by pipdig