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City-rover panda sent back to wild
By Huang Zhiling (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-09 05:52
"Shengling No 1" came into the media spotlight on July 16 when she was found
wandering the city of Dujiangyan.
Rescuers secure the panda before
lowering it to ground.
[newsphoto] | The panda weighed about 60 kilogrammes and was 90 centimetres long. She is
between four and five years old, the age at which pandas reach sexual maturity .
"She might have happened to roam the streets of Dujiangyan from the
Longxi-Hongkou National Natural Preserve while looking for her 'Mr Right.'
Alternatively, she might have been driven away by her mother to start an
independent life," said Li Desheng, a panda expert from Wolong.
A check-up found the panda to be suffering from an infection of the gall
bladder and anaemia. After round-the-clock intensive care for nearly 20 days,
the panda became healthy enough to return to the wild. "She now weighs 63
kilograms," Li said.
To prepare for her return, more than 2,000 farmers in the Longxi-Hongkou
National Natural Preserve, which is dedicated to protecting giant pandas and
snub-nosed monkeys, spent three days searching an area of 607 hectares to clear
away traps left by local hunters.
After being set free at around 11 o'clock yesterday morning, the panda headed
straight into the forest, disappearing in less than one minute.
"Thanks to the global positioning system (GPS) on her neck, we'll be able to
know her whereabouts, whether she is walking, taking a rest, looking for food or
delivering a baby panda," said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong Nature
Reserve Administrative Bureau.
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