Playing Panda Matchmaker

Giant panda cubs are adorable, fuzzy balls of black and white fur. Zoo visitors regularly flock to catch a glimpse of these rarely seen animal stars. But when Jon I Ballou, from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and Kathy Traylor-Holzer, from the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group see panda cubs, they see them as […]

Giant Panda Zoo Awards

On January 17,2014, the winners of the annual Giant Panda Zoo Awards were revealed at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The Giant Panda Zoo Awards are organized by www.GiantPanda- Zoo.com, a website about captive giant pandas around the world, to promote giant panda conservation work both in and outside of China. From December […]

Panda Q&A Part 5

Q: Do giant pandas always have two cubs in one litter? A: The percentage that giant pandas will be pregnant with twins is about 4596, almost equal to that of singleton pregnancies. It is possible but very rare to have a triplet.   Q: Does bamboo taste good? Do pandas have a highly-efficient digestive system? […]

Visitors at the Pond

Foping National Nature Reserve lies in the middle of the Qinling Mountains, the headwater for the first level tributary Jinshui River of the Han River. There are abundant forests, streams, bamboo groves, and old pine trees throughout the reserve. Large and small pools of water interspersed with marshland speckle the landscape. During dry seasons, the […]

Giant Panda’s Friends International

My name is Andreas Freund and I live in Frankfurt, Germany. I work full-time as a controller in a distribution company for medical devices. Otherwise, I am committed to giant pandas and in 2012 I founded Giant Panda Friends International, a small, German, non-profit organization focused on giant panda protection. I am trying to raise […]

I am a Volunteer

I am honored to have participated in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding’s Liang Mountain Giant Panda Reserves Environmental Educational Summer Camp Program. Six Chinese university students and three graduate students from the United States volunteered to organize two summer camps for local primary school students who live and study near giant panda […]

Lost in Panda

I am Margarita Lau from Hong Kong, China. Friends often refer to me as a “panda addict”, “panda queen”, “panda big sister”, “Ms. Panda”, or “Aunt Panda”. Everyone, including acquaintances, all ask one question: “Why do you love giant pandas so much?” Everyone has a favorite animal and giant pandas are mine. Some have suggested […]

An Amazing Journey with Giant Panda

With heightened curiosity, I flew all the way from Hong Kong to Chengdu to join the International Internship Program at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Whenever I reminisce about this intensive giant panda journey, I am filled with gratitude for such an amazing, unforgettable, surreal, and exciting experience. The giant pandas I […]

Akemi Tanaka: A Dedicated Panda Fan

Each time the staff at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Foundation mentioned Akemi Tanaka, a feeling of warmth and happiness pervaded the room. Since her first dose contact with pandas on July 8, 2011, Tanaka has come to Sichuan to visit pandas at least once a month. Her schedule while in Sichuan was always […]

To Those Who Care for Giant Pandas

I work in the Conservation Education Department at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to help spread conservation information about giant pandas. My job gives me many opportunities to meet people from around the world, gathering in one place because of their curiosity and love for giant pandas. Each person pays respect and […]