There is nothing more fun than watching little baby pandas play, nap and giggle? Be prepared to have an extra dose of happy with the workers at the Chengdu Research Base in Sichuan, China.
The “daycare” is actually a nursery center for these adorable little panda cubs!
As these sweethearts grow up together, the researchers are hoping that they’ll breed together. The panda population is quickly dwindling rapidly and may be as low as 1,864.
Female pandas are only able to breed 2-3 days a year. They normally reproduce only one cub every two years, so their babies are quite a precious resource.
The baby pandas would be highly vulnerable out in the wild and are therefore kept in the research center.
Since adult pandas require a lot of bamboo, they are kept protected from the many predators who are wily enough to wait to prey on the cubs when the mother is out feeding.
As adults, pandas are still very playful.
The lifespan of a panda out in the wild is upward of 25 years.
The pandas greatest threat to their survival is humans.
Poachers, musk deer trappers, tourists and land developers all present potential threats to the survival of the panda species.
Here at Chengdu, a little panda can thrive.
The research base was founded in 1987 to house pandas and other endangered animals.
Chegndu began with six giant pandas that had been captured from the wild and removed from threatening situations.
By 2008, those 6 pandas had produced 124 offspring.
Today, Chengdu’s panda population is 83, one of the largest in the world.
Many organizations and zoos work with Chengdu to help preserve this amazing animal.
From the US, the Atlanta Zoo loaned Chengdu two giant pandas, Yang Yan and Lun Lun.
The Atlanta pandas found mates and produced five panda cubs in total.
The Chengdu Research Base is open to the public.
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