Rugged Tours - Panda Conservation Project

With a total world population of 1,000, Giant Pandas are on the brink of extinction. You might have already had a glimpse of a Giant panda in a zoo cage before, but how about an opportunity to get up close and personal to these living fossils? This is your chance to contribute on this line of conservation work.

At this project you will be working at the Chengdu Panda base which is located in north suburb of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province. Research at the Chengdu Panda Base focuses on the advancement of wildlife conservation in China; these include research on Giant Pandas, South China tiger, the red panda, the golden monkey and others. Research areas include reproduction, nutrition, veterinary medicine, behavior and more.

Following is a general guideline for a two-day-session schedule:

Day 1:
8：45 Welcome
8：45——9：00 Check in, grouping, and handing out information materials
9：00——10：30 Brief training, introduction to the Research Base and safety rules, and tourring around Research Base to learn more about giant panda and the Base (with one of thetrained staff or experts)
10：30——11：30 Learn enclosure rules and perform keeper’s duty (see the listing for detailed duties) for giant panda
11：30——11：50 Watch giant panda films
11：50——13：30 Lunch break
13：30——14：30 Learn how to perform animal behavior research and analyze collected data
14：30——16：45 Slide groups to perform keeper’s duties for giant panda at different enclosures

Day 2:
8：45 Set off at the hotel heading to the Base
8：45——11：45 Deviding into small groups to perform keeper’s duties for giant panda at different enclosures
11：50——13：30 Lunch Break
13：30——14：00 Perform animal behavior research, collect the behavior data and write a simple report. If lucky enough, your findings will be published on our panda website or magazine
14：00——15：30 Perform keeper’s duties for giant panda
15：35——16：30 Learn the tourists rules and perform volunteer’s duties
16：30——16：45 Groupphoto with the Base staff, presents, and farewell

Your Keeper duty may include:

Feeding your panda (fresh bamboo, apple, special biscuit and/or vegetables)
Clean panda enclosure ( to give the panda a clean and comfortable place)
Weigh your panda’s feces (This is one of the most effective ways to know the health of a panda)
Clean bamboo (It is important to give pandas clean food)
Clean your panda (Rinse your panda with cool water and see how much they enjoy it, but just in summer)
Weigh fresh bamboo (It is important to know how much is offered to pandas, how much they consume, and the weight of their feces. Proper bamboo consumption is critical to the health of pandas)
Weigh the bamboo after panda eats (To know how much they have eaten)
Give an ice block to your panda (This helps them to stay cool in summer, and they love them!)

Besides the basic keeper's duty, you also :

have the opportunity to become a panda behavior researcher. Learn how scientists collect data to better understand the minds and needs of giant pandas. Develop a research question, collect your own data and analyze the collected data to write the report.
Visit and publish articles on our website at the Scientific and Technical Department to let more people better understand giant panda and how to protect them
Communication with giant panda experts and educators at the Base

Interested? Why not get in touch. (info@rugged-tours.com )