In April 2009, Lu Xin, the first wild giant panda to be reintroduced for scientific research, disappeared into the primeval forest of Shimian Liziping in Ya'an. The reintroduction of giant panda Xiangxiang failed in the past. Is Lu Xin still alive today? Did it live a healthy life? Through a year of hard field monitoring by the expert team and the staff of Sichuan Liziping Nature Reserve, as well as experts hired by Conservation International in January this year to carry out infrared active camera monitoring of giant pandas in Shimian County, it has been determined that Lu Xin is Sichuan Liziping Nature Reserve is living very well and integrated into the Asbestos giant panda population.

Infrared monitoring exposes Luxin’s life

Although the captive giant panda Xiang Xiang was released into the wild before, and the wild giant panda Shenglin No. 1 was released, after learning from the previous After the experience, experts still regard the release of Lu Xin as the first scientific research on the reintroduction of wild giant pandas, and the release of Lu Xin, who was originally a wild giant panda, has also become the first reintroduction of wild giant pandas to other places. example. However, since it was released in April 2009, the staff has been tracking Lu Xin through mountains and ridges, which has consumed a lot of manpower, but the intuitive image has not been observed.

In early January this year, the local government launched an infrared active camera monitoring project, and Lu Xin's life was about to be exposed. "Through the infrared active camera monitoring project, we captured many precious images and confirmed the existence of rare animals in the ecological reserve." said Liu Shiming, deputy director of the Shimian County Forestry Bureau.

Lu Xin’s good status is related to gender

After Lu Xin was released into the wild, the monitoring team conducted long-term “GPS” and radio positioning tracking and monitoring of Lu Xin.

"According to our monitoring, Lu Xin is in good condition." Yang Zhisong, associate professor at the Institute of Rare Animals at West China Normal University, said that Lu Xin was released in the local Mamadi (small place name). The food is very abundant, which helps it adapt to the new environment faster. The current monitoring situation shows that Luxin has integrated into Shimosi’s giant panda population.

Yesterday, relevant experts said that the previously released Xiang Xiang and others were all male giant pandas. After their release, they were rejected and attacked by local giant pandas and died. Therefore, Lu Xin is now living in good condition. It is related to its gender: "Giant pandas are male-centered animals. In each group, there are fathers, uncles, and brothers. All female giant pandas in the group are foreign."

Will be recalled for physical examination at the end of the year

"Next, we will continue to monitor, observe the food intake of giant pandas, and further investigate the biodiversity habitat conditions of Liziping Nature Reserve." Liziping Nature Reserve Yang Yi, chief of the Conservation Department, said that there are 4 people responsible for long-term monitoring of Lu Xin, divided into 2 groups. One group monitors regularly, and the other group runs transects to understand whether there are other wild giant pandas in the forest area. Or species, whether these species can develop in a coordinated manner. Every month, the staff has to run two transects, and many times they have found traces of local wild giant pandas. They also found two panda footprints, one large and one small, in Lao 206 ditch (a small place name). And two piles of fresh panda excrement, which will be very helpful for finding a match for Lu Xin in the next step.

According to reports, the first phase of Luxin’s release into the wild will last until the end of December this year. At that time, the staff will recall Luxin to check its physical condition and replace the GPS on its neck. Locate and radio the collar for the next phase of monitoring.

□News Replay

On March 26, 2009, the giant panda Lu Xin collapsed due to illness and starvation in Xinglong Township, Luding County, Garze Prefecture and was found by local villagers and rescued. In the early morning of the next day, experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda were dispatched urgently and took Lu Xin to the Ya'an Bifengxia Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda for comprehensive treatment. It is reported that the wild female giant panda named Lu Xin weighs about 70 kilograms and is a young individual. After more than a month of careful conditioning, Lu Xin's body fully recovered, and she was released to another place on April 29.