From crested ibises to pandas, China lights conservation path

Captive breeding advances

One of the most significant achievements was the breakthrough at the beginning of this century in addressing the three major challenges of captive giant panda breeding — estrus, mating, and cub survival.

"This breakthrough significantly improved the reproductive capacity and quality of the captive giant panda population. Now, 75 percent of breeding-age female giant pandas and half of breeding-age male giant pandas have produced offspring," said Li Desheng, an expert at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda based in Sichuan.

The focus of the next round of cooperation will be prevention and control of major diseases affecting giant pandas, protection of habitats, enhancement of survey and monitoring capabilities, and support for the establishment of the China Giant Panda National Park, according to the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

Affected by the pandemic, the international transfer and return of giant pandas has seen delays in recent years.

The year 2024, however, has seen very active international movement of the pandas. More than 20 giant pandas have returned to China after concluding their stays overseas, while 10 giant pandas have embarked on new lives overseas.

In April, Jin Xi and Zhu Yu moved to the Madrid Zoo in Spain after a family of five giant pandas returned from there to China in February.

Spain was one of the earliest countries to establish a connection with giant pandas. As early as 1978, King Juan Carlos I made his first state visit to China, during which China gifted Spain a pair of giant pandas, Shao Shao and Qiang Qiang. In 1982, Shao Shao gave birth to a cub named Zhu Lin, causing a sensation across Europe.

In 2007, the two countries signed an agreement on an international cooperation project for giant panda conservation and research.

Over the past 17 years, the two countries have collaborated to breed six giant panda cubs, making Spain the most prolific country in Europe in terms of international cooperation in giant panda breeding.

Last year, two pairs of giant pandas embarked on their journeys to the US. One pair was sent to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington DC and the other to the San Diego Zoo in California.

In November 2023, President Xi Jinping, while addressing a welcome banquet jointly hosted by friendly communities in San Francisco, said that pandas have long been envoys of friendship between the Chinese and US peoples. China is ready to continue with cooperation with the US on panda protection, he said.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn