World's only human-bred panda in wild dies
Posted: 31 May 2007 1951 hrs
Xiang Xiang the panda
BEIJING: The only giant panda released into the wild after being
bred in captivity has died, setting back China's efforts to save
the critically endangered species, state press reported
Thursday.
Xiang Xiang was found dead in February on snow-covered ground after
apparently being mauled by wild male pandas protecting their
territory, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua said the announcement of Xiang Xiang's death was delayed
until a full investigation had been completed.
The five-year-old was bred in captivity at the Wolong Nature
Reserve in China's southwestern Sichuan province and released into
the wild in April last year, but proved unable to cope with
real-life conditions.
"We chose Xiang Xiang because we thought that a strong male panda
would have a better chance of surviving in the harsh natural
environment," said the reserve's deputy director, Li Desheng.
"But the other male pandas clearly saw Xiang Xiang as a
threat."
Xiang Xiang, which means "Auspicious", underwent three years of
training before his release, learning to build a den, forage for
food and mark his territory, but not how to fight well
enough.
"We have to give captive-bred pandas better survival training,
especially combat and defence skills," Xinhua quoted reserve
vetenarian Yang Chunxiang as saying.
Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species, with just
1,590 living in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, and
more than 210 in captivity, according to Xinhua.
In 2003, China began teaching the animals bred in captivity to live
in the natural environment so that the population in the wild would
grow.
Xinhua described Xiang Xiang's death as a "major setback" for those
efforts but officials said more pandas would be released into the
wild.
"We are all sad about Xiang Xiang, but it doesn't mean the project
has failed," said Zhang Hemin, head of the China Giant Panda
Protection and Research Centre in Wolong.
"The lessons we have learnt from what happened to Xiang Xiang will
help us adapt and improve the project." - AFP/yy
