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PandasYOUR ADOPTION UPDATE

THINGS GET SLIGHTLY MESSY FOR ONE GIANT PANDA

STICKY STORY A L S O I N S I D

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CRUCIAL WORK YOU’LL SUPPORT IN 2016

10 YEARS OF PROGRESS YOU’VE BEEN PART OFKEEP NATURE ALIVE

Giant pandas are amazing, and thanks to work you help fund, we’re learning more about them.

Share these fascinating facts with your friends and family and maybe

they’ll want to adopt an animal too!

Wild&WONDER

FUL

BEAR ESSENTIAL

SOn average, giant pandas poo 40 times a day!

When startled, excited, or to announce their presence, giant pandas make a loud ‘bark’

NOISE ALERT Just like

domestic cats, the pupils of giant pandas’ eyes have vertical slits

FELINE FEATURE

WWF.ORG.HK• YOUR PANDAS ADOPTION UPDATE • ISSUE 11

© 1986 Panda symbol WWF “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark

WWF-Hong Kong, 15/F, Manhattan Centre, 8 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, N.T., Hong Kong.

Tel: (852) 2526 1011, Fax: (852) 2845 2734, Email: adopt@wwf.org.hk

(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability by guarantee 於香港註冊成立的擔保有限公司)

Registered Name 註冊名稱: World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong 世界自然(香港)基金會

workers found it, the panda had broken into 11 hives and was happily slurping away. It didn’t even seem to notice their arrival and just carried on eating.

The workers called local forestry officials, who rushed to the bee farm. They were relieved to see that, despite devouring hundreds of pounds worth of honey, the panda had come to no harm. The sweet-toothed intruder eventually left of its own accord and wandered back to the forest, where it’s probably now searching for wild beehives! Boaxing County lies in Sichuan province, and China’s fourth National Giant Panda Survey estimates that around 181 giant pandas live there. Your adopted Qinling pandas live in

ne story that really tickled me recently features a very determined panda with a liking for honey – like a black-and-white Winnie the Pooh!

Workers at a bee farm in Baoxing County were surprised to find that several hives had been ransacked. They were even more astonished to discover that the culprit was a giant panda. It seems that the peckish panda had somehow found its way inside and simply did what any bear would do when confronted with all that yummy honey – he got stuck in! By the time the

Shaanxi province and you support lots of important work to protect their habitat.

Recently WWF colleagues from across Shaanxi gathered together in Guanyinshan Nature Reserve to celebrate the progress made in restoring a wildlife corridor near the old 108 national road. You may remember reading about this in your previous updates.

Long-term research, including camera trapping you’ve helped fund, shows that two previously separated giant panda populations are now using the corridor. It’s 40 years since these pandas have been able to reach each other, so this is really great news. Thank you so much for all the support you give giant pandas, it’s really achieving results!

We’ve been celebrating a decade of work to protect giant pandas. And these beautiful bears never cease to amaze us

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Villagers dress up as pandas as part of a bamboo-planting event

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Compiled by Wan Hui of WWF-China’s giant panda programme, which your adoption helps support

YOUR FIELD REPORT

SUCCESS IN NUMBERSHere are just some of the fantastic achievements adopters like you have helped make happen in the Qinling tunnel corridor areaGiant pandas

mainly feed on bamboo, but they

do sometimes forage for other foods

such as pumpkins, wheat – and honey

181According to China’s fourth National Giant Panda Survey, around 181 giant pandas live in Boaxing County

n top of this, you’ve supported our work with countless local communities, helping them find sustainable ways to make

a living, such as beekeeping and growing medicinal plants. We’ve also introduced energy-efficient cooking stoves to improve people’s health and reduce the need to gather firewood from the forests, which could disturb panda habitat. Thank you.

MORE THAN 3,000 METRES OF FENCE REMOVED, helping pandas and other animals to move freely

NINE SMALL-SCALE PASSAGES CONSTRUCTED, enabling pandas to safely pass beneath a major highway

300 PEOPLE TRAINED in conservation and forest management to help protect vital panda habitat

YOUR NEXT UPDATE >> Look out for more enthralling news about your adopted Qinling pandas and how you’re helping to protect them.

SEE HOW YOU’VE HELPED We’ve put together a short video showing some of the crucial work you’ve been helping to support in the Qinling Tunnel corridor area. Watch and be proud at: wwf.org.uk/Qinling

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1.3 SQ KM OF BAMBOO FOREST RESTORED, providing food and essential shelter for giant pandas

HONEY BEAR PANDA PERTINENT

It’s 40 years since these pandas have been able to reach each other, so this is really great news. Thank you so much for your support, it’s really achieving results!

Caught in the act!

The peckish

panda raids the

beehives

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The AWE-inspiring view from the top of a mountain. A walk in silent woods. An unexpected encounter with a wild animal. These are the moments that make us feel truly alive

KEEP NATURE ALIVE

oday, more and more of us are able to experience moments like these

- because nature is living and thriving again in pockets of protected land across Europe. But this progress is under threat, because the laws that protect these places could be weakened.

Here at Hong Kong, though we don’t have panda in the wild, we do treasure your support as you are making a difference to our world, helping the panda and their habitats. Thank you!

We need your continue support, as we don’t want to lose the rich, beautiful, living nature we love.

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PANDA FIELD TRIPAnzihe Nature Reserve was one of the

many places that our panda expert Nicola Loweth visited last year, to gain a

first-hand look at crucial work you’re supporting. Nicola also visited the Qinling mountains where your adopted pandas live. You can

read her fascinating blogs at: WWF.ORG.UK/PANDABLOG

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YOU COULD HELP ESTABLISH COMMUNITY-RUN PROTECTED AREAS Enabling local people to manage the forests sustainably brings benefits, both for them and giant pandas.

YOU COULD HELP SUPPORT IMPORTANT RESEARCH For example, it’s vital that we study the impact of climate change on panda habitats, including the bamboo that the bears depend on.

YOU COULD HELP FUND MORE CAMERA TRAPS This will strengthen crucial ongoing monitoring work across Gansu province – home to over 130 pandas.

support will do in 2016

YOU HELPED PAY FOR ESSENTIAL CAMERA TRAPS

Thanks to your adoption, we can continue to help protect giant pandas and their habitat. Here are some of the panda-tastic

achievements adopters like you were part of last year

With your help, over 40 camera traps were installed in nature reserves across Gansu province, enabling researchers to learn more about giant pandas and their behaviour.

YOU HELPED FUND CRUCIAL MONITORING IN THE QINLING TUNNEL CORRIDOR AREA

Thanks to you, we now have photographic evidence that two previously separated panda populations are moving closer together.

Thanks to you, we helped former logging companies develop plans to restore and manage forests, protecting pandas and other wildlife.

Now take a peek at

what your continu

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QINLING MOUNTAINS,

SHAANXI PROVINCE

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You support crucial panda monitoring

n last update we told you about this brand new visitor attraction, which our colleagues at WWF-China helped

establish, supported by funds from your panda adoption.

The centre is full of interactive and informative displays about the forest and its wild wonders, including giant pandas. We’re delighted to tell you that it’s been a huge hit, attracting over 3,000 visitors since May last

year, including lots of school children who really love getting stuck into the activities!

Our colleagues trained 10 forest park staff and recruited 6 volunteers from local universities to man the centre. They also created an exciting visitor guidebook. It’s packed with info and activities aimed at improving people’s understanding about the panda’s forest home and its importance to their own daily lives.

N E W SP A N D A S

N E W SP A N D A S

A much-needed clear-up has made Anzihe Nature Reserve a better place for pandas and their wild neighbours

COMMUNITY CLEAR-UP

nzihe lies in the beautiful Qionglai mountains. It’s

important for giant pandas because it connects four nature reserves – Wolong, Heishuihe, Fengtongzhai and Labahe. Together, these reserves protect almost 9,000 square kilometres of panda habitat.

The park is a major tourist attraction, which sadly left it littered with people’s rubbish. Thankfully, our colleagues at WWF-China came up with a sparkling solution, involving 30 university students.

WWF’s team worked with the students to create a colourful display explaining Anzihe’s importance as a corridor between other protected areas for giant pandas and other wildlife. They used the display to inspire a community clean-up campaign, involving tourists and local people.

So far, four clean-up sessions have taken place, involving 170 tourists

and resulting in more than 200 bags of litter. We think that’s a far from rubbish result!

A CLEAN TEAM

NATURAL ATTRACTION

Over 3,000 tourists have visited a wildlife education centre you helped support in Heihe Forest Park

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PandasYOUR ADOPTION UPDATE

THINGS GET SLIGHTLY MESSY FOR ONE GIANT PANDA

STICKY STORY A L S O I N S I DE

CRUCIAL WORK YOU’LL SUPPORT IN 2016

10 YEARS OF PROGRESS YOU’VE BEEN PART OFKEEP NATURE ALIVE

Giant pandas are amazing, and thanks to work you help fund, we’re learning more about them.

Share these fascinating facts with your friends and family and maybe

they’ll want to adopt an animal too!

Wild&WONDER

FUL

BEAR ESSENTIAL

SOn average, giant pandas poo 40 times a day!

When startled, excited, or to announce their presence, giant pandas make a loud ‘bark’

NOISE ALERT Just like

domestic cats, the pupils of giant pandas’ eyes have vertical slits

FELINE FEATURE

WWF.ORG.HK• YOUR PANDAS ADOPTION UPDATE • ISSUE 11

© 1986 Panda symbol WWF “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark

WWF-Hong Kong, 15/F, Manhattan Centre, 8 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, N.T., Hong Kong.

Tel: (852) 2526 1011, Fax: (852) 2845 2734, Email: adopt@wwf.org.hk

(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability by guarantee 於香港註冊成立的擔保有限公司)

Registered Name 註冊名稱: World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong 世界自然(香港)基金會