There's A "Kindergarten" For Panda Cubs At A Reserve In China

Dec 30, 2019 by apost team

Seeing pictures of absolutely adorable panda babies can melt anyone's heart. That is especially true because one doesn't see newborn pandas that easily because pandas usually don't seem to breed in captivity. Researchers try to help stabilize the panda population by studying and tending to the pandas as zoos are struggling to get them to breed.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province is a leading research center and tourist park that concentrates on the breeding and conservation of giant pandas and has bred over 150 healthy offspring so far.

The rescue of six malnourished and sick pandas led to the founding of the Base in the 1980s to give those pandas a safe place to recover and to live and to eventually help the species to bounce back and grow in population.

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A Giant Panda in the wild has a diet that is 99% bamboo. Around 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo needs to be consumed every day to get the needed nutrients.

There are maternity wards that look after expectant panda mothers around the clock. For example, the “Sun Delivery Room” takes care of the mothers during the day, and the “Moon Delivery Room” takes care of them at night.

The “nursery” with numerous newborn cubs from various mothers also demands around-the-clock care by the staff. Then the cubs live in a “kindergarten” for a couple of years before they get to graduate to the natural environment in the reserve. Some of the pandas are eventually moved to other wildlife reserves or zoos or into the wild to live their lives, and a new batch of cubs moves into the “nursery” to start the program all over again.

The Base, a non-profit research facility, also includes educational tours to promote education and conservation, partners with numerous research stations and zoos, and teaches conservation groups what they learn about giving the pandas the best hope for survival.

Have you ever seen a newborn panda in real life? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to your friends and family!