In the early morning at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, located in Chengdu, keepers began their busy day. At around 8:30 AM, keeper Ma Qiang carried stacks of bamboo into the quarantine area of the panda enclosure. The pandas were already awake and became “excited” when they saw Ma Qiang bring in the bamboo.
The Dujiangyan base, one of the four major bases of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, is located near Qingcheng Mountain, offering a tranquil environment with suitable temperatures. The quarantine area of the base houses some pandas waiting to give birth as well as elderly pandas. “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang,” who returned from the United States last year, are also living here, enjoying their “retirement.”
“Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang” reside in two adjacent enclosures, filled with tall trees and bamboo groves. During the summer, cicadas chirp in the trees, and sunlight filters softly through the dense leaves. The ground is covered with shrubs and ground plants, closely mimicking the pandas’ natural habitat.
Last November, “Tian Tian,” “Mei Xiang,” and their 3-year-old son “Xiao Qi Ji” embarked on their journey back to China, arriving in Chengdu after a 19-hour trip. This year, “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang” will turn 27 and 26 years old, respectively. Given that one year of a panda’s life is roughly equivalent to 3.5 human years, “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang” are comparable to nonagenarians in human terms.
During a recent visit to their enclosures, the reporter observed “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang” peacefully sitting on large rocks, eating bamboo. Since their return, Ma Qiang and another colleague have been responsible for their care. “The pandas start moving around before dawn and take a short nap after some activity. The keepers’ work hours coincide with their ‘wake-up’ time,” explained Ma Qiang. The pandas’ diet follows the principle of “coarse first, then fine,” including bamboo, bamboo shoots, corn buns, apples, and carrots, which are provided multiple times a day.
For elderly pandas, maintaining good health is especially important, particularly in preventing infectious diseases and monitoring age-related conditions. To ensure the well-being of “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang,” their enclosures are located diagonally opposite the base’s animal hospital. The hospital is equipped with MRI and X-ray facilities to better monitor the pandas’ internal organs and digestion. One of Ma Qiang’s duties is to weigh “Tian Tian” and “Mei Xiang” and measure their blood pressure. “Both pandas are quite healthy,” he said.
“Tian Tian” weighed around 123 kilograms upon returning to China and has maintained a stable weight since. “This morning, we weighed him at 123.5 kilograms,” said Ma Qiang. “Tian Tian” is lively and active, while “Mei Xiang” is much quieter, spending more time resting after eating. “Mei Xiang” has a good appetite and digestion, producing about 11 kilograms of feces daily.
