The giant panda, China's national treasure, is quickly becoming a treasure not only to the Chinese, but to people all over the world. Pandas are the symbol for the World Wildlife Fund, and are a good representation of how, if we all work together, we can make a difference in the lives of endangered species.

Pandas have always been a source of fascination for people, especially with zoogoers in the United States. When the first giant panda went on display at the Brookefield Zoo (Chicago) in the 1930's, Americans quickly fell in love with these charismatic creatures. People all over the world started to demand that their local zoos display pandas and up until the beginning of the Cold War, pandas were routinely shipped over from China for the pleasure of millions of zoogoers.

When the Cold War began however, relations between the U.S. and China were very strained and the procurement of pandas stopped. When the last panda left in a U.S. zoo died in the mid-1960's, there was little hope of getting any more until Richard Nixon became President. Hopes were raised in 1972 when then President Richard Nixon and the First Lady traveled to China, the first Presidential couple to visit the country. The story goes that during a dinner one night with the Chinese Premiere, Mrs. Nixon picked up a cigarette holder with panda pictures on it and commented on how much she loved the pandas. The Chinese Premiere replied that he would give her some and thus, giant pandas, Hsing-Hsing and Ling Ling were sent to Washington D.C.'s National Zoo.

After President Nixon's historic visit, zoos in the U.S. again started putting in requests for giant pandas. The Chinese were happy to oblige and sent pandas all over the world for the right price. Then the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service learned that one zoo only kept the giant pandas they "borrowed" from China for one weekend for a town celebration! At this point, they stepped in and created a giant panda permit program. This was finalized in 1998 after a five year study on giant panda loans. According to the new policy, more than half of the funds associated with the panda loan (as much as $1 million dollars) per year must be put into conservation of wild giant pandas in their habitat.

The National Zoo in Washington D.C. was once again the first zoo to acquire giant pandas under this new policy (as San Diego & Zoo Atlanta had their pandas before the policy was in place). The new pair, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian were sent from China in December of 2000 and introduced to the public on January 10, 2001 thus ushering in a new century of giant pandas at the National Zoo and giant panda conservation.

In accordance with the new policy, the National Zoo is continuing the research they had been doing when Hsing Hsing died in 1998 (Ling Ling died in 1992) and they are also helping train the Chinese working at the reserves, as well as revamping the reserves, which are badly dilapidated . The training includes teaching the Chinese how to track pandas in the wild by taking panda surveys, using GPS systems, etc. The big focus of the giant panda research is to ensure a self-sustaining ex situ (captive) population capable of supporting the in situ (wild) population if it drops any further. This is an ambitious goal and the only way to accomplish this is to learn more about the giant panda.

The giant panda is an herbivore by habit; its primary diet is bamboo, which is low in nutrients. This is contradictory to their build - their teeth, jaws, stomach, and intestines are all built for a carnivorous animal. Since pandas don't get much energy from bamboo alone, scientists have been trying to find ways to supplement their diet. Thanks to research done by the Smithsonian Institution, we have learned that they will also eat apples and other fruits. In addition, scientists at the National Zoo created what they call the "leafeater biscuit" which is composed of high fiber compounds.

Another challenge facing researchers is how to increase the reproductive rate of giant pandas. In the wild, giant pandas are sexually mature between four and eight years of age; however the female is only fertile for two to three days during the mating season. This means that the typically solitary pandas need to find a mate (usually found by scent markings) and breed in that short time. Once a female panda conceives, she gives birth within 95 to 160 days after conception and can give birth to up to two cubs, though statistically only one cub in a twin birth will survive to adulthood. Panda cubs tend to stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own which means that the wild female can only produce one cub every other year. This makes recovery from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes difficult.

There is hope for the giant pandas; currently, Wolong Reserve, one of China's breeding centers for the giant panda, has had much success with breeding the pandas in captivity. There are three methods they use to breed the pandas: natural breeding, artificial insemination, and a combination of the two. They have had varied success with all three, but as time goes by, the success rate is going up. One of the biggest problems to crop up from these procedures was the confusion concerning paternity of the panda cubs that were born to mothers who were both breed naturally and artificially inseminated. Scientists from World Wildlife Fund and the National Zoo were sent over to China to conduct DNA testing on these cubs to determine paternity and lineage. Once this was done, they created the giant panda stud book of all breeding males and females and taught the Chinese working at the reserve how to keep accurate records for their pandas. The stud book is a guide detailing all the available and fertile pandas in captivity and where they are located. With this book, scientists can match up individuals from different lineages to keep the genetic diversity among pandas.

Despite the success of panda births at the Wolong Reserve and the commitment to save giant pandas, there is still a lot that needs to be done to save this species from extinction. Presently, the Chinese are trying to set up new reserves and corridors to link them. The World Wildlife Fund and the National Zoo team are working towards a number of goals, the biggest two being training for the Chinese on how to track giant pandas, and making the reserves a place the Chinese would want to work. At present, they do not have a suitable place to live on the reserves with access to the outside world, and environmental jobs in China carry a stigma; they are neither highly coveted, nor respected. As long as these teams remain committed, the future does look bright for these creatures, and hopefully with continued funding going to the reserves in China and to research worldwide, we can make a better world for the pandas to live in.