Pandas YOUR ADOPTION UPDATE PANDA SCHOOL AN EXCITING NEW PLACE TO LEARN THE BEAR NECESSITIES A L S O CLIMATE TAKE ACTION ON CHANGE EYES IN THE FOREST I N S I D E
PANDAS YOUR FIELD REPORT GIANT PANDAS ARE NATIONAL TREASURES IN CHINA, AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE COME TO THE RESERVE EACH YEAR, HOPING TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THEM The new nature school Inspecting the beehives COMPILED BY WAN HUI OF WWF-CHINA S GIANT PANDA PROGRAMME, WHICH YOUR ADOPTION SUPPORTS QINLING MOUNTAINS, SHAANXI PROVINCE CEN TR A L CHINA Visitors enjoy the displays SWEET SUCCESS We re hoping a fantastic new nature school will inspire more people to protect your amazing adopted pandas unds from your panda adoption supported the recently-opened nature school. It lies in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve in the Qinling mountains home to your adopted pandas. The reserve was heavily logged until 1998, and since then we ve been helping to restore it by replanting bamboo forests. We also helped the reserve gain national nature reserve status, which means it will receive extra funding to protect the pandas and other wildlife living there. 10 CHINA S FOURTH NATIONAL GIANT PANDA SURVEY ESTIMATED THAT 10 GIANT PANDAS LIVE IN THE RESERVE PANDA PULL Giant pandas are national treasures in China, and thousands of people visit the reserve each year, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Lots of other amazing animals live there too, including red pandas, Asiatic black bears, yellow-throated martens, takins, blue-eared pheasants and golden monkeys. The nature school will really open people s eyes to all the fascinating wildlife around them, and why it s so important to protect the natural environment. For example, there are activities aimed at highlighting the harm that litter can cause to Guanyinshan and other reserves, and why it s important not to leave any behind. IMAGES: MAIN, LEFT, CENTRE GUANYINSHAN NATURE RESERVE / WWF CHINA, RIGHT WWF CHINA, PANDA INSET MICHEL GUNTHER / WWF-CANON PAWS FOR THOUGHT Of course, your brilliant adopted pandas are featured too. Visitors can discover everything from their feeding and breeding behaviour to the crucial role they play in keeping bamboo forests healthy, by spreading seeds in their poo! We ll also showcase our work to protect these incredible bears, such as restoring the wildlife corridors they depend on to move around freely. And we ll encourage staff from other reserves to visit, so we can all learn from each other. We want people to go back home feeling really positive about pandas and conservation, so they re inspired to make a difference themselves just as you do, through your panda adoption. Our busy Qinling Youth Ambassadors have won a prestigious gold award for their community beekeeping work e couldn t be prouder of our Youth W Ambassadors. They re all local university students who give up their summer holidays to work on community conservation projects, which benefit people and giant pandas. They help the communities find sustainable ways of making a living, that reduce the need to take firewood and other resources from the forests pandas rely on. Bees knees Last summer the Youth Ambassadors got stuck into beekeeping, helping local people to improve their livelihoods by selling honey. We re delighted that their outstanding efforts netted them gold in the 2016 China Youth Volunteer Service contest. 2 YOUR PANDAS ADOPTION UPDATE 3
FOR THE L VE OF PANDAS C limate change threatens everything we love, and many species and habitats are already feeling its impact. But you can help make a difference. If you want to personally do something about climate change, you can help fight it by living a low carbon lifestyle and there are so many ways to do this! It can be something simple like taking public transport more often instead of driving, or turning off the lights when you re leaving the room, or purchasing energy-saving appliances. There are many more ways check out our website: https://www.wwf.org.hk/en/your_support/ act_locally/ WWF CHINA / ZHAO NAXIONG
PANDAS NEWS PANDA WATCH A NEW WIRELESS SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM IN YELE NATURE RESERVE IS HELPING TO PROTECT GIANT PANDAS AND THEIR HABITAT C M MAIN GEORGE B. SCHALLER / WWF, INSET WWF-CHINA Y ele Nature Reserve spans over 240 square kilometres of the steep Xiaoxiangling mountains in China s Sichuan province. The results of China s Fourth National Panda survey, published in 2015, estimated that just two pandas live there, so it s crucial they re protected. CAUSING HARM As the human population expands, the reserve is coming under increasing pressure. Even though they re not meant to, people use it to graze their cattle, and gather firewood and medicinal herbs. They also cut down trees and lay snares to catch deer and other animals for food. All of these activities damage and disturb the bamboo forests pandas rely on. But the new system is really helping. Surveillance cameras have been positioned at all the reserve s entry and exit points. They transmit live videos to the rangers office computers and mobile phones, enabling the rangers to see what s happening, day and night, and respond quickly to any suspicious behaviour. 5,299 METRES Yele Nature Reserve CAUGHT ON CAMERA In the past, the rangers patrolled on motorbikes or horses, and it took 20 of them seven or eight days to cover the whole reserve. They also recorded everything on paper. Not only do the cameras save time, they automatically load data onto a computer system. The system has other useful functions too, such as face and number plate recognition, which can identify any repeat offenders. YELE NATURE RESERVE RANGES IN ALTITUDE FROM 2,700 TO 5,299 METRES ABOVE SEA LEVEL LONG-TERM SUPPORT Thanks to adopters like you, we ve worked with Yele Nature Reserve since 2008. We helped set up 40 camera traps to monitor pandas and other wildlife, and in 2010, they revealed the first image of a giant panda in the reserve. Y CM MY CY CMY K 6 YOUR PANDAS ADOPTION UPDATE
As well as helping to safeguard giant pandas, your adoption supports our other vital work to help protect our beautiful planet and its wildlife. Thank you. YOUR PANDAS ADOPTION UPDATE ISSUE 15 COVER SUSAN A. MAINKA / WWF, BACK COVER NATUREPL.COM / AFLO / WWF 1986 Panda symbol WWF WWF is a WWF Registered Trademark 1986 熊貓標誌 WWF, WWF 是世界自然基金會的註冊商標 WWF-Hong Kong, 15/F Manhattan Centre, 8 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung N.T. Hong Kong 香港新界葵涌葵昌路 8 號萬泰中心 15 樓世界自然基金會香港分會 Tel 電話 :(852) 2526 1011 Fax 傳真 :(852) 2845 2764 Email 電郵 :wwf@wwf.org.hk Registered Name 註冊名稱 : World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong 世界自然 ( 香港 ) 基金會 (Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability by guarantee 於香港註冊成立的擔保有限公司 ) WWF.ORG.HK