Yesterday 2 year old and captive born Giant panda Xue xue was released in the Liziping reserve. Before release the animal was trained to find it's own food. Xue xue seems to be the fourth Giant panda which was released back into the wild but I was unable to find information of the other three.
Pandas always seem to be made a big deal of in conservation. I have spoken to many people who seemed surprised that pandas weren't the rarest animals in the world. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti- panda but maybe some of the resources devoted to pandas could be devoted to other species.
That's good news, of course, but does China have an endgame in mind for panda conservation? Chengdu seems to be bursting with pandas, but they're rarely sent to other zoos and we almost never hear about reintroductions. And then there was this article: It seems like the very definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
2 more females trained to get released : Two young female pandas complete ?survival training? ahead of release into the wild | South China Morning Post