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PANDA PRESS

2017

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Letter from the DirectorThank you for making 2017 yet another remarkable year for Pandas International! This year marked 17 years of support for the Giant Pandas.

Thanks to you, panda cubs had nutritional formula, and full tummies. On behalf of them, thank you for providing the care and formula they need to grow strong and healthy. As they grow they will need bamboo, panda bread, vaccines, medical treatment and enrichment activities all of which will be provided through your support.

2017 was a Fabulous Year for 1st time corporate sponsorships! The donations from Tsingtao, Slickdeals and Gishwhes totaled over $64,000.

What YOU made possible in 2017 Direct Support of the Panda Reserves’ (CCRCGP) four panda centers;

Wolong Nature Reserve Shenshuping Panda Centre, Gengda, Sichuan Province ChinaWolong Nature Reserve Wenchuan, Hetaoping Reintroduction Base, Sichuan Province ChinaBifengxia Nature Reserve Yucheng District, Ya’An City, Sichuan Province ChinaDujiangyan Center for Disease Control, Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province China

• Adoption donations which help provide for the care and daily needs of the pandas

• Esbilac Milk Formula for cubs to thrive - 100 bags (2204 pounds)

• Enrichment items to stimulate their environment

• Staff Training in the labs at Dujiangyan by Dr. David Kersey and equipment for the new labs

• Staff Support and appreciation for the care for all the pandas

• Veterinary Equipment and supplies including large quantities of life saving vaccines and worming medications to prevent the parasites from harming the pandas

• Surgical and hospital supplies

• Authorization and deposit to begin production of new transportation cages

• GPS collars and trackers vital to the reintroduction program and panda suits for training

In 2017, Pandas International received our first ever Lifetime Adoption, so a huge Thank You to the adopters of Bao Bao.

I would like to extend a giant Thank You to all the wonderful philanthropist kids who did Pennies4Pandas projects, held panda birthday parties, dedicated their Bar mitzvah money to the pandas or donated in other ways- You are all Great.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to the staff of all the panda bases. The vets, keepers, lab techs, Panda Club, office staff, reintroduction team and support staff work hard every day for our beloved pandas.

Colorado Gives Day is December 5, 2017, so please consider an end of the year donation on this day to keep our efforts going forward in 2018. (See insert)

Our ongoing goal is to keep our overhead low while increasing our support for the pandas, and you truly make this possible! Thank you for wholeheartedly being a part of the Panda Lovers Community. We are looking forward to much more in 2018!

Suzanne Braden, Volunteer Director

Program Support for the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP)

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Name of Cub Meaning Gender Birthdate Mother

Tian Bao Treasure from Heaven Male June 2 Hao Hao

Qin Xin Heart of Qin Female June 16 Shu Qin

Chu Xin First Love Female July 30 Zhuang Mei

Xiao He Tao Little Walnut Female July 30 Zhuang Mei

Ru Yi Wishful Male July 31 Mei Xi

Mu Yun Cloud Female July 31 Mei Xi

Hong Xi Happiness Male August 4 Xi Dou

Pan Qing Expecting, green Female August 4 Xi Dou

Fu Feng Lucky Phoenix Female August 7 Yang Yang

Fu Ban Lucky Companion Male August 7 Yang Yang

Qiao Yi Qiao #1 Female August 11 Qiao Qiao

Qiao Liang Qiao #2 Male August 11 Qiao Qiao

Pang Niu Fat Girl Female August 17 Cui Cui

Pan Yue Expecting the Moon Female August 19 Yang Hua

Jie Rui Jerry Male August 26 Su Shan

Xiu Qiu Silk Ball Female September 5 Shui Xiu

Qin Qin Dear Male September 10 Mei Qing

Ai Ai Love Male September 10 Mei Qing

Yue Yue Moon Male October 10 You You

Ban Ban Half Female October 10 You You

* Information is to the best of our knowledge.

Names of the 2016 Cubs

Program Support for the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP)

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Travels in China – September 2017This past September Karen Wille (PI board member and adopter) and Christie Harper (PI adopter) went to see Qi Zai. This is Karen’s report on their visit.

I decided that it was time to meet a very special Giant Panda, Qi Zai – the only brown and white panda in captivity. Qi Zai, now seven and ½ years old, lives at the Foping Nature Reserve located in the Shaanxi Province situated in the Qinling Mountains of China. The reserve is home to four endangered/vulnerable species: the Giant Panda, Takins, Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey and Crested Ibis.

It was an 8-hour car ride from Chengdu, with beautiful scenery along the way. The reserve has a Panda Themed Hotel on the premises where we stayed. At night, it was wonderful to be lulled to sleep by the sound of birds and other animals as well as the peaceful sound of the rushing river that runs through the reserve.

The highlight of the trip was meeting Qi Zai. We were very fortunate that he was active all morning during the day we spent at the reserve. And his keeper, who has been with him since he was rescued at 1 ½ years old, spent time with us, answering our questions and showing us videos that he had taken of Qi Zai over the years. It is interesting to note that Qi Zai is a sub-species (Qinling Panda) to the Giant Panda (differences include a smaller skull, shorter snout, and a smaller overall size). Qi Zai has a beautiful enclosure with 3 climbing structures, a pool, and special grass that his keeper planted for him that is apparently a little sweeter than usual. His diet is also supplemented with a bowl of milk each day which he really loves. His outdoor enclosure is large and they are currently renovating the enclosure next door to bring in a female panda – perhaps a girlfriend for Qi Zai? I was enchanted by this very special panda. He’s very playful and so handsome and it was such a joy to watch and spend time with him. Qi Zai is a very rare panda indeed.

Scientists guess that the brown and white coloring is due to some type of genetic mutation. Panda experts are planning to find him a mate. Being able to observe and study the appearance of his child, researchers would get a step closer to solving brown fur’s mystery.

If you find yourself traveling to China and have some extra time, I would highly recommend a visit to the Foping Nature Reserve to meet Qi Zai. I’m so glad that I did!

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Pandas International has extended our support for Giant Pandas by providing support for the Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue Center (SWARC) in Louguantai. You will remember the pandas that died from distemper outbreak in 2014-2015 were at Louguantai. So PI began our support with distemper vaccines to insure no other pandas died.

In 2017, in addition to vaccines, PI has provided SWARC with reagents and formula for the three cubs which were born in June of 2017. Fourteen-year-old Yang Yang gave birth to a male cub on June 11 and Ai Bang, gave birth to twin male cubs on June 12. All three cubs are doing well.

Conservation Efforts of 2017

Shaanxi Wild Animal Rescue & Research Center

China’s Newest Solar Farm Has a Friendly Face

A new solar farm is opening up in China, and this one has a twist. The energy firm, Panda Green Energy Group, has constructed the solar panels in the shape of a giant panda. In addition to building potentially dozens of solar farms, the company hopes that the friendly panda faces will give Chinese citizens a greater appreciation and understanding of solar power. Panda Green has also built an education center geared toward teaching children about the importance of renewables.

According to the company, over the next 25 years the solar energy generated by this plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by almost 3 million tons. If the company hits its goal of 12 gigawatts of solar energy by 2020 the company could reduce CO2 emissions by almost half a billion tons over the next few decades. With any luck, these pandas might just save us.

New push for “Corridors”

Although much successful work has been achieved in the captive breeding of the giant panda, the wild species is still in serious trouble. Only around half of the population of wild pandas are located in nature reserves. Even within these reserves the panda is at risk: illegal logging and agricultural encroachment means that the reserve’s forests are now fragmented, existing as woodland “islands”, each surrounded by a sea of human activity.

The populations of panda marooned within these islands are tiny, normally 10 animals or less. It is generally acknowledged that the minimum viable population (MVP) for large mammal species is around 50 animals. Any population below this figure is regarded as non-viable, and will eventually succumb to the deleterious effects of inbreeding. Denied the ability to migrate to new areas or “outbreed”, the mass of small, isolated giant panda populations have no long-term future; and as it appears that every wild panda is isolated in this way, the future of the species in the wild is bleak indeed.

One of the best ways of effecting interaction between marooned populations is by planting strips of natural forest, or “green corridors.” Once established, these act as migratory highways, the animals gradually exploring the new long stretch of secure habitat until they meet with members of their own species from the other isolated island. This is a proven technique for several mammal species, although it has not yet been attempted with an animal as large as the giant panda.

©Zhao Peng Peng

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Adoptor Adopted Panda Nickname Country

Ana Buenaventura, Maria Frizzoni,

Charlene Johnson, Roxanne Tran and

Joey Tu

Bao Bao* USA and

Switzerland

Murcal and Abdullah Al Baker

Bing Jing UAE

Ayesha Alsaadi He He UAE

Kelsey AndersonFrances Aronson,

Anne Belov & Diana Sutton

Ya Jun Zhen Zhen

USAUSA

Natalia Arduca Chun Qiao Lucy Arduca Australia

Alan and Kyle Bell Hua Mei USA

Daniel Bojmel Qing Qing USA

Gail Bradley Tuan Zi USA

Suzanne and Jerry Braden

Jie RuiQing FengSu Shan

Zhang Ka

Jerry Jr. Harvey Jr.

Evelyn

USA

Bonnie Budwig Ao Ao USA

William andKarom Burke

Jin KeLin Bing

USA

Francis Chan Ying Xue Lin Lin Hong Kong

Chet Chin Feng YiGong GongGong Zhu

Yoong PingFeng Er

Malaysia

Susan Corso Ping Ping USA

Mark & Bonny Daniels Jeanette Deines

Fu LongSu Lin

USAUSA

Jeanette Deines and Velia Watts

Zhen Zhen USA andCanada

Anne Wescott Dodd Chun Qiao Tuan Zi

USA

Judy Dolan Huan Huan USA

Qian Qian USA

Port Allen Elementary Chu Xin USA

Nart Fongsmut Wen Hui Thailand

Frele Family Chun Qiao Ki Ki USA

Maria Frizzoni Bei BeiHan Han

Switzerland

Susan Guill Ying Ying USA

Andi and Sean Haney Xin Xin USAGloria and Peter Harm Wen Hui Australia

Christie and Todd Harper

Bao BaoZhen Zhen

USA

Ceci and David Howes Yi Yun Canada

Leslie Johnson Bei Bei USA

Charlene Johnson Shen Bin USA

Jennifer Karie He He USA

Ellen Keely Bing Jing, Hao Hao, Hua Mei,

Jia Jia, Shen Bin,

USA

Panda AdoptionsAdoptor Adopted Panda Nickname Country

Ellen Keely Su Lin, Ting TingTuan Tuan, Tuan

Zi, Chun Qiao, Yuan Yuan, Yuan

Zai, Yue Yue & Zhen Zhen

USA

Walter Kopcza You You USA

Carla Kwok Qing Qing China

Annie Lai Ning Ning Hong Hong Hong Kong

Gayle Lego

Rong Rong

A Jie & Min Min USADarlene Lewis Fu Bao Tree Panda USA

Candice Li Bing Jing Taiwan

Rui Lily Li Peng Peng

Tong Tong

China

Carol Loveless Su Shan Hope USA

Panda Lovers Wen Yu USA

Sharon Ludwig Bing Jing Chun Chun III USA

Carol Magidson Pang Niu USA

JoAnn & Joe Mann Wen Hui USA

Jim Tupper and

Andi McLean

Bing Jing

Qing Shan

Joan

An Di

UK

Patricia Millius Bao Bao USA

Cynthia Murphy Hai Zi USA

Jim & Ashley Oberhofer Jia Jia Tammy Sue USA

Michael Lent & Canta Pian Ya Mei USA

Johanna & Stephen Pond Bao Bao USA

Rose Richards Su Shan

Su Xing

Australia

Mollie Rivera Hua Mei USA

Wayne Robinson Duo Duo Jasmine Australia

Tom and Monica Rogan Jin Ke Peter USA

Quynh Le Nhu and Oliver Schneegans

Fu Long France

Village School Tong Tong Village USA

Selah Smith Su Xing USA

Nattaprapa Suriyamontol Ling Bing Thailand

Cami Taylor Bing Jing USA

Ron and Susan Telesko Ge GeJun Zhu

Su-LinAr-Lin

USA

Kim’s World Travel Ya Jun USA

Shannon Tucholski Yi Ran USA

Mary & Hayden Vinquist Hao Hao USA

Nottaporn Visutasunthorn Lin Bing Thailand

Simon Westwood A Jie UKKaren Wille Bei Bei USA

Linda Wroth Hai Zi USA

Judy Young Bao Bao USA

Annette Yuen Ao Yun Ao Yun Yuen Hong Kong

Si Jia Si Jia Yuen

Weiyi Zhang Qian Qian China

*LIFETIME ADOPTION

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Village School Adopts Tong Tong for 12 YearsBy Shea Morris

For over 12 years Village School kindergarten has been “traveling” to China as part of our Global Studies curriculum. Our traveling doesn’t actually involve leaving Pacific Palisades, yet it does involve exploring various aspects of the Chinese culture and a study of the Giant Panda.

The students love learning about the panda. There is an instant attraction. The kindergartners learn panda facts, do panda art projects, read panda books, as well as participate in a community service project related to our travels. Pandas International became the focus of our community service project as they were a USA non-profit directly supporting the efforts to protect and help Pandas.

To raise money for Pandas International, the kindergarten students and kindergarten teachers decided to have a bake sale with the profits going to Pandas International. The parents baked sweet treats and the kindergarten students sold them with the first sale raising just over $500 allowing the Village School students to adopt Tong Tong. The next year the students did the same thing and a tradition was started that still continues today. The Panda Bake Sale is held each February and all treats are now sold for $1.00. The whole school is committed to the success as they remember learning about Tong Tong when they were a kindergarten student. Most students now buy a couple treats and say, “Keep the change.”

We have been raising over $1000 the past few years because of the entire community embracing Tong Tong. Much love for Tong Tong does come from the fact that many students remember my participation in Hug My Baby. Hug My Baby provided the school community with a stronger connection to Tong Tong. I was able to meet Tong Tong. I fed him and observed him in his environment for quite a long time as well as gained so much from interacting with other adopters and our tour guides who shared much about the culture with us. This year the first graders are already telling the kindergarten students about the Panda Bake Sale and upper school students have stopped by asking me if I have any new updates about Tong Tong. February will be here soon enough and I cannot wait to see how much we raise this year! Village School loves Tong Tong.

Ceci and Davey Adopt for 5 Straight YearsBy Tina Chen

Ceci (age 14) and Davey (age 10) Howes held their annual “Save the Pandas” Fundraiser on September 4, 2017 in Winnipeg, Canada. It is a fun-filled event with panda cupcakes, marshmallows, emPANaDAs cooked in an outdoor wood-fire oven, and lots of panda-themed games.

They are thrilled that for the 5th straight year, they raised enough money to adopt a panda through Pandas International. In total, Ceci and Davey have raised $4,310 over the past 5 years!

Ceci and Davey held their first fundraiser in 2013, after they spent a month in Chengdu. While in Chengdu, they visited the Chengdu Panda Base several times. This led them to research pandas and the reasons pandas became an endangered species. Ever since then, they like to share information about pandas and what everyone can do to protect their favorite animal and safeguard the environment pandas need to survive. Ceci and Davey also enjoy involving friends in their annual fundraiser and are thankful for the support of various communities.

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Cao Cao, who for the last seven years has lived at CCRCGP’s Hetaoping panda reintroduction center, where she demonstrated strong adaptability to living in the wild, became the first captive panda to mate with a wild panda.

The world’s first giant panda cub with both captive and wild parents was born on July 31 in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

The 15-year-old female giant panda Cao Cao gave birth to the cub at the Hetaoping semi-wild training base. She started to show signs of pregnancy on July 1 and went into labor on July 30.

The cub marked great success in experiments to encourage captive pandas to mate with wild pandas in order to increase the genetic diversity of the captive population, according to Zhang Zhizhong, of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP).

The female cub weighed 216 grams, compared to the normal newborn weight of around 150 grams. Wu Daifu head of the base attributed the cub’s unusually high weight to the good health and appetite of the mother during pregnancy.

Wearing a GPS collar, provided by Pandas International, Cao Cao, was released into the wild on March 1st where she lived for nearly two months.

The CCRCGP launched an experiment in late 2016 to bring in genes from the wild population to make the captive pandas healthier. As of the end of last year, the worldwide captive giant panda population stood at 471, leading to growing concerns of inbreeding, Wu said.

Zhang Hemin, deputy head of the center, said babies from captive and wild parents would enrich the gene pool of the captive stock.

We are extremely proud to support CCRCGP’s ground breaking efforts in this genetic diversity project.

All images © www.news.cn

Amazing Step to improve Genetic Diversity and the Reintroduction Program

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Reintroduction Just recently, Zhang Xiang, who was released on Nov. 6, 2013 was recaptured for a physical examination. She is healthy and was released back to the wild at 2AM on Sept. 29th. It took the research team 2.5 months to find her. She was 40 kg when she was released to the wild in Nov. 2013, and now she is 87 kg - cause for celebration.

Since the reintroduction program was revamped in 2010, six pandas have been released into their natural habitat. Five of them are still currently thriving in the wild.

2012- Tao Tao was released. His mother was Cao Cao.

2013- Zhang Xiang was released. She is Su Shan’s twin sister and their mother is Zhang Ka. Zhang Xiang in 2013 before she was released

2014- Xue Xue was released but died 1 month later. Xin Yuan fell ill and passed away before being released.

2015- Hua Jiao was released. Her mother is also Cao Cao making Tao Tao her brother.

2016- Hua Yan was released (the first 3 year old released, the rest of the pandas were all 2). Her mother is Ye Ye.

2016- Zhang Meng was released. Her mother is also Zhang Ka. She is siblings with Zhang Xiang and Su Shan.

2017- Two more pandas are scheduled to be released this year.

Tao Tao

Hua Yan

Hua Jiao

Zhang Meng

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Update on Status and Panda Habitat

A new report in the Journal of Nature Ecology & Evolution states that the panda habitat is severely fragmented which places wild pandas at great risk. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0317-1)

You will remember that last year, giant pandas were downgraded from an “endangered” status to “vulnerable”. But the new study in the journal suggests those gains may be short lived if more attention isn’t paid to the animal’s habitat, which is becoming increasingly fragmented.

China has taken major steps toward protecting pandas and the other animals who share their habitat. They have established 67 panda preserves and captive breeding programs, but there are problems which still exist.

Roads, Road Construction and Power Plants

Expanding human populations require more and more roads which then fragments the bamboo forests, the wild panda’s habitat, creating smaller and smaller areas for panda populations. Graphics in the report show a dramatic increase in roads throughout the panda habitat. Pandas avoid areas with roads, traffic or construction.

Professor Zhang Hemin of CCRCGP, who said the upgrade was premature, stated that the wild pandas are broken up into 30-33 isolated populations. Some of these populations have between 10 and 18 individuals. These isolated populations face a high risk of extinction.

Creating corridors is something that has been talked about for decades, but is now urgent.

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Wildlife Grazing in Reserves

In 1999, China banded logging operations in panda habitat, which lead to an improvement in the bamboo forests, but now there is a new major significant problem- wildlife grazing in the panda reserves and disseminating the bamboo. The wild pandas face competition from livestock.

Increased livestock grazing in China’s Wanglang National Nature Preserve has damaged one third of the habitat in the park, according to a new study by Chinese and U.S. scientists finds. Binbin Li, assistant professor at Duke Kunshan University’s Environmental Research Centre, who led the study, stated that the number of livestock inside the reserve has caused tremendous impact on the bamboo. Bamboo makes up 99 percent of the giant pandas’ diet.

Since the end of logging the amount of livestock with in the reserves has increased nine-fold over the last 15 years, as the locals try to find new ways to support their families.

In the Wolong Nature Reserve, home to two CCRCGP panda bases, horses belonging to farmers have been found grazing on bamboo, within the reserve. The horses were set loose in the reserve. Horses have been banned from the reserve but may not be totally removed.

TourismIn recent years, tourism has expanded in China and in the panda’s home area. Tourists who trek to try to see wild pandas visit areas which should be preserved solely for strict conservation.

Mostly the sheer number of Tourists disrupt the region. Tourism increases the need for roads and might also promote more meat consumption which increases the problem with livestock grazing.

photo ©Li Binbin

Climate ChangeTemperature increases, in China over the next cen-tury, are predicted to affect bamboo growth. It is not yet known if bamboo can move to new habitats at higher elevations which would give pandas a chance. Some scientists are also concerned that an increase in tempera-ture may lead to early flower-ing of bamboo plants which would devaste the pandas main food source.

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Bamboo Leaves Partners

Accessory PowerHogan Lovells, LLP

Kenny FlowersMori

PandaloonPanda Paw

Swole PandaTobi

Under the SkinYoungsiesZooHood

Monthly Donations are a simple easy way to help the pandas. For as little as $10.00 you can sign up for automatic donations for 2018. Just go to the Donate Today Button on our website, enter the amount and click

the box – “Make this a Monthly Donation”. The Pandas will Thank You!

Email us at info@pandasinternational.org or call us at 303-933-2365.

Visit us online at www.pandasinternational.org

Bamboo Shoots Partners

Erica VojnichKim’s World Travel

SpiritHoods LLCSuncor Energy

Bamboo Forest PartnersExplore.org

Gift RepublicGishwhesSlickdealsTsingtao

Please Help Us Thank and Support our Panda Partners

Please contact us if you are a business that wishes to sponsor us and be

listed on the Panda Partners page along with a direct link to your website.

Pandas International will host its annual Chinese New Year’s Dinner, on Saturday, February 24, 2018. Our 18th Annual Dinner will be held in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

For more information, please check our website.

Mark your calendars

Basi the world’s oldest giant panda in captivity dies at 37The world’s oldest captive giant panda Basi died on September 14th. “With a heavy heart, we solemnly announce today that giant panda star Basi died at the age of 37,” an official in Fuzhou said.

She lived to the equivalent of more than 100 years old in human years, surpassing all other pandas she lived with in captivity. The expected life span of pandas in captivity is usually up to 30 years, so she had a long full life. Director Braden visited Basi in 2016 and expressed great sadness at her passing.

Basi was known as a beautiful panda and in Fuzhou if a woman was beautiful they would say she is very Basi.

© China Daily/via REUTERS