check out how this giant panda cub takes lessons with his mother. he is already one-and-a-half years old. the little one seems to have no interest in practicing survival skills, but the mother won't allow her baby to go out there untrained.
with its population on the rise, the giant panda has been downgraded from "endangered" to "vulnerable" on the global list of species at risk of extinction in 2016.
the giant panda has exceeded 310 in the china conservation and research center for giant pandas in chengdu city, the capital of southwest china's sichuan province. it is the largest captive giant panda population in the world.
however, there are still obstacles in returning them to their rightful natural habitats.
male giant panda xiang xiang was released into the wild after training in 2006, but he couldn't survive living among wild animals and eventually died.
learning from the tragedy, the center has adopted a new way of training, where panda cubs live with their mom in half-wild environments. the first thing they have to learn is how to climb trees.
it is an important skill for them to survive in the unfamiliar environment. there are dangers everywhere in the forest. the innocent panda cubs may encounter aggressive enemies, such as other bears.
this is about life and death.
as a conservation measure, the giant panda national park pilot program is underway in china. it includes an area of over 27,400 square kilometers, covering 67 giant panda nature reserves in sichuan, shaanxi and gansu provinces.
the conservation and research center for giant pandas is preparing for the next batch of pandas to be returned to the wild.
(cover image is a screenshot from the video.)
