Netizens posted a video saying that the motorcycle traveled to a river near a river in Baoxing County, Sichuan, and found a giant panda corpse in the river, which aroused widespread concern among netizens. On April 12, the official report said that the death was a wild female adult giant panda, and it was preliminarily judged that there was no external trauma on the body, and it had been sent for analysis of the cause of death.
Jin Xuelin, director of the Giant Panda Research Center of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Zoology, was interviewed by Huashang Daily Gale News, popularizing the knowledge of giant pandas that netizens are concerned about, and analyzing the incident of giant panda carcasses found in the river.
Netizens met by chance - a suspected giant panda was found buried in the river during the journey, motionless
The video shows a suspected giant panda floating on the surface of the water with its head buried underwater, motionless and floating quietly in the water.
On April 12, the video photographer said that the incident occurred on April 11, and he and his friends were traveling on a motorcycle on the small ring road in western Sichuan, and when they were near a relatively remote river in Baoxing County, they saw a giant panda motionless in the water, "The scenery nearby is very beautiful, the giant panda is motionless in the water, it should be drowned." Judging from the size of the giant panda, netizens should be a juvenile giant panda.
"When I told the local villagers, they said that it was common for wild pandas to die of natural causes, and some of them died of natural causes near the water. It is possible that the giant panda fell from a tree and drowned. Netizens said that the river is on the side of the road, and although the water flow is slow, it looks deeper. He felt sorry to see the giant panda drowning.
According to public information, Baoxing County is known as the "hometown of the panda, the legendary Baoxing", with a good ecosystem and rich resources that cannot be compared with other places, and is the world's first giant panda discovery site and the first giant panda model specimen production area, and is the Sichuan giant panda habitat of the world natural heritage.
Official Bulletin –
It is a wild female adult giant panda, and it is preliminarily judged that there is no external injury
It has been sent for analysis of the cause of death
At noon on April 12, according to the "emergency call" report, Zheng Congjun, head of the wildlife protection unit of the Baoxing County Forestry Bureau, said that after the incident, personnel had arrived at the scene to deal with it, and no trauma and scars were found on the giant panda.
On the afternoon of the same day, the official report said that at 10:20 a.m. on April 12, the Forestry Bureau of Baoxing County, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, received a report from the masses that a giant panda was found in a river in Beetongzhai Township, which was suspected to have died. After receiving the report, the county forestry, public security and other departments rushed to the scene to verify and dispose of it.
After on-site verification, the giant panda was a wild female adult giant panda, and it was preliminarily judged that there was no external injury on the body surface, and it was confirmed that it was dead. At present, the giant panda has been sent to the Bifengxia Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Ya'an for detection and analysis of the cause of death.
Expert Analysis——
Giant pandas swim well, and the likelihood of drowning is extremely small
The death of the giant panda may be related to choking on water, falling off a cliff, and sudden natural disasters
On April 12, a reporter from Huashang Daily Gale News interviewed Jin Xuelin, director of the Giant Panda Research Center of Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Zoology. He said that most wild animals are born with the instinct to swim and can swim through fast-flowing rivers, so the possibility of a giant panda drowning is extremely small.
Jin Xuelin analyzed that judging from the official report of this incident, the giant panda is a wild female adult giant panda, and the preliminary judgment shows that there are no external injuries on the body surface, and there are at least three possibilities for the death of the wild giant panda: First, the giant panda was sick, his physical fitness declined, and he suddenly fainted when he went to the river to drink water, causing him to choke on water and die. In this case, the autopsy will show that something has choked into the lungs, and secondly, based on previous experience, it is possible to fall from a cliff and fracture the pelvis, unable to move or swim, and thus die. In this case, the results of the autopsy will investigate and deal with fractures and other phenomena, and third, it may be a sudden local flood, and the giant panda is swept away by the torrent, resulting in accidental death.
Malnutrition –
Giant pandas in the wild live only half as long as captive-bred giant pandas
Adult wild pandas die mainly from malnutrition
Jin Xuelin said that there is a big difference in the lifespan between wild pandas and captive-bred giant pandas. The average lifespan of wild giant pandas is less than 13 years old, but the average age of captive giant pandas is over 25 years old. This is mainly due to the fact that many factors in the wild can lead to malnutrition in wild pandas. For example, 99% of the food source of giant pandas is bamboo, and there is no good bamboo in the local area, teeth, mouth, digestive and other diseases, various internal parasites, depleting nutrients in the body, etc., will lead to premature aging of giant pandas.
Jin Xuelin further added that from a breeding perspective, the mortality rate of cubs in captive-bred giant pandas is only 10%, compared to only 25% in wild giant pandas. From the perspective of conservation, compared with the malnutrition of wild giant pandas, artificial breeding can supplement the nutrition of giant pandas in a timely manner. ”
Habits –
Lives alone and prefers a remote, secluded, cool environment
Before dying, they may move to low valleys, near river areas, and may also turn to humans for help
About the habits of wild giant pandas. Jin Xuelin said that the giant panda is known as the "hermit of the bamboo forest", which has two meanings, "one is to represent that it is a solitary animal, and the other is to represent that it likes remote, quiet, cool mountains and forests with bamboo forests." "Normally, only during the breeding season, the female and male pandas get together, and the rest of the time they are alone. Giant panda larvae and sub-adults may be hunted by natural enemies, and once they reach adulthood, they will have very strong defense capabilities, so adult giant pandas are mostly killed by diseases and accidental falls.
Jin Xuelin said that wild giant pandas will have a decline in physical fitness before they die, so they will move to low valleys, near river areas, and may even appear around villages. ”
Continental Policy –
The fundamental measure of giant panda conservation is to protect the habitat
If you encounter an injured giant panda, you should not rescue it privately, but should contact the relevant departments in time
On how the mainland protects wild giant pandas. Jin Xuelin said that the mainland's fundamental measures for the protection of giant pandas are to protect their habitats; secondly, it is necessary to strengthen patrols in the field and provide timely assistance to injured and sick giant pandas; and it is also very strict in cracking down on poaching; at the same time, the mainland has also made efforts in scientific research, not only to study the living habits of giant pandas, but also to analyze their habitats, and to take effective measures to protect the possible threat factors through scientific methods to achieve large-scale protection." The mainland counts the wild giant panda population every 10 years, and has carried out four national giant panda population surveys so far to fully understand the distribution of the giant panda population in China, as well as the habitat status and threats it faces...... These measures have achieved good protective results. ”
Jin Xuelin reminded that the habitat of wild giant pandas is mostly the core area of the reserve, and even the core area of the national park, in strict accordance with laws and regulations, citizens are not allowed to enter without permission, and it is recommended that travelers do not go to these areas. If you find an injured giant panda in the wild, you must not rescue yourself, and be sure to contact the public security or forestry department, "Giant pandas are fierce beasts, and rescue requires very strong professional skills." Private assistance may not only fail to achieve effective assistance, but may even cause injuries to the rescuers. ”
Huashang Daily Gale News reporter Zhang Pengkang editor Dong Lin
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