Vanessa's Journal

March 1

I was originally going to go out to check cages today, but decided it would be best to stay back because our food carriers were coming up today and I needed to check the food and also send them down the mountain with a bunch of my equipment to go into storage.  As it turned out, I ended up having some of my own excitement in the field. 

I decided to “take one for the team” and carry some water from the nearby water source. Lao Wang has principally been in charge of it and has carried water every day for a while now so that we can eat, drink, and remain fairly hygienic. If you remember, our pipes froze over a month ago and we have since been in a state of water rationing.
 
It was another beautiful day out and the birds were out in full force, so I welcomed the chance to be outside. 

The walk to the water source is maybe 10 minutes long. I decided that I would carry small amounts in multiple trips. I saw many birds on my various trips, but there was something completely unexpected that happened on my fifth and final trip. I was filling up my container with water when I heard a noise coming from the sloping mountain up above me. It sounded like an animal was charging through the vegetation and at first I looked around to find myself a potential escape route in case it was a threatening animal like the takin (large hoofed animal). It came closer and closer and finally I saw a ball of fur come out onto the trail with amazing speed, almost like a tornado. 

I couldn’t tell what it was at first because it was going so fast and there was vegetation in the way. It started running along the trail in the opposite direction from where I was standing. I took a few steps in that direction to see if I could get a glimpse of it and lo and behold, I spotted the little red ears of not one but two red pandas running at top speed along the trail. One was chasing the other and I immediately knew that this must be a male chasing a female, courting her to mate! He was definitely in hot pursuit and she was either not interested or playing hard to get. 

The red panda mating season has been reported as January to February, so this is now the tail end of it and they are all probably getting in their last mating attempts. I can’t think of many other reasons for why these two would be running so fast and at such a long distance. It doesn’t seem as likely that it was two males fighting for mates or resources because the males usually stand still and swat each other with their paws until one runs off in submission and they wouldn’t necessarily pursue one another with that level of intensity for that distance for this purpose. 

After that experience, I completely understand why researchers have reported that giant pandas are surprisingly unperturbed by the presence of humans during their mating season. These two red pandas were likewise so busy with courting that they seemed completely oblivious to my presence as they barreled down in my direction and came within about 30 meters of me. 

After filling up my water containers, I slowly and quietly headed back to the research station, hoping to see the red pandas again, as they had run off in that direction. I think I came close to them at about the half-way point because I heard some rustling of leaves below me, but they were too far off to see and I didn’t want to start trudging through vegetation and disturb them. I couldn’t believe how close they were to our field station.

This really has become the field season that has been all about the red pandas. It has been a great learning experience for me and I have enjoyed the chance to see Wuyipeng through their eyes. They are really quite fascinating creatures and each time I have interacted with them, I have felt that they have a strong presence about them and distinct personalities. 

When my field team members got back from checking traps, they reported some excitement of their own. They saw a tufted deer in person! They got a picture of it, and it is hard to see clearly, but I definitely could not miss the brown coat and antlers.  What a thrill that must have been. They also saw golden monkey footprints right next to one of our cages (the first one at Baiyan). It is so funny to think about a golden monkey playing around the cage and wondering what it is. 

Aside from these two sightings, they also reported another giant panda feces sighting! A second giant panda has entered the trapping area in the last few days. This one had passed through an area about 70 meters from the trap in Jinhuashugou (a trap that has gotten little action throughout the season). It actually walked right up along the same trail that we walk on and apparently continued on into a thicket above. It completely bypassed the trap and is now in an area that we do not have covered, so I’m not sure that it is trappable in the near future. We shall see.