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The Sichuan Giant Panda Bases and Sanctuaries (32 photos)

In the mountains of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, a network of research centers, nature reserves, breeding facilities, and wildlife sanctuaries has been established to support native endangered species, especially the vulnerable giant panda. Researchers have been working for decades in the Wolong National Nature Reserve and Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to boost the numbers of giant pandas in captivity, and to reintroduce some of them into the wild. Since 2006, the breeding program has released seven captive-bred pandas into the wild, two of which have died. At the moment, there are an estimated 1,864 giant pandas living in the wild in China, with a bit more than 225 living in captivity.

Researchers dressed in panda costumes place a panda cub into a basket before transferring it to a new living environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China, on February 20, 2011. The 6-month-old cub was being transferred to a bigger living environment with a higher altitude and a more complicated terrain, marking the beginning of the second phrase of its training to reintroduce it to the wild. Researchers wear panda costumes to ensure that the cub’s environment is devoid of human influence, according to local media. (China Daily / Reuters)
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/11/the-sichuan-giant-panda-bases-and-sanctuaries/546509/