Vanessa's Journal

Feb. 2

Today I got caught up on some reading.  I am continuing with my re-reading of the Giant Pandas of Wolong book.  I find that I am getting a lot more out of it now that I have a better frame of reference, since I have spent more time in their study area of Wuyipeng.  I read about giant panda home ranges and it was interesting to follow the paths of their giant pandas throughout areas that we walk through every day while checking traps. They talked about interactions among neighboring giant pandas and the likelihood that there is competition among pandas for prime habitat.  This message resonated with me more than it has in the past due to their reference to specific areas we walk through while checking traps. 

One of the adult females that they monitored using a radio collar inhabited an area called Erdaoping.  We have a trap there and it is great panda habitat because it is a large, relatively flat area with lots of bamboo.  At the time of their study, there were two sub-adults who spent most of their time in an area adjacent to Erdaoping called Zhuangjinggou.  Zhuangjinggou is not the best habitat because it was logged by humans extensively before this area was designated as a nature reserve.  It doesn’t take a scientist to walk through that barren area and feel like it is not the best panda hangout.  So it makes sense that the sub-adults who were still trying to negotiate their status in the panda world would be banished to living there, while their adult superior took up residence in the neighboring bamboo paradise of Erdaoping.  There is a lot that we don’t know about how giant pandas interact with one another in the wild, but it is fascinating to get these little glimpses. 

Another thing I read that excited me was that they observed pandas sledding down the slopes just like I do! They found six sites at which a panda had slid down a slope on its stomach.  In some cases they felt it was difficult to explain using science because it would be more energetically efficient to walk down the slope.  Is this evidence of play? One time, a researcher observed a panda sliding down a slope, only to walk back up and slide down a second time! These are just anecdotal accounts, but they reveal to us that there is a lot that goes on in the daily life of a giant panda that is shrouded in mystery. 

On the Wuyipeng life front, at dinner we had some Chinese New Year cake that I had bought in town.  I think cake is an American thing.  Everyone thought it was weird that I got a cake for Chinese New Year, but they appreciated the effort from me the American in attempting to observe the important Chinese holiday in my own way.  Lao Wang said some deep words about our two countries improving our friendship and continuing to collaborate in the future.  He also politely declined his portion of the cake due to his low tolerance for sugar, so I ended up eating about half of the cake myself.  This is only the beginning of the holiday season, and I sense that we will all be 10 lbs heavier at the end, much like Christmas.