“Wolong Giant Panda National Park truly deserves its title as the core habitat and homeland of giant pandas. The pandas are really right here with us!” Recently, a resident from Gengda Town, Sichuan, shared a short video showing traces of a giant panda, which quickly gained attention online. Some netizens joked, “The giant panda must know the New Year is coming and came down from the mountain early to wish everyone a happy New Year!”
On January 15, Mr. Liu, the owner of the guesthouse where the panda tracks were discovered, told reporters that his guesthouse is located near the Shenshuping Base in Wolong. On the morning of January 13, one of his staff members, while doing a routine outdoor inspection near the treehouse in the guesthouse’s backyard, noticed traces of a giant panda.

“At first, we found some panda droppings, and then, not far from them, we discovered several paw prints,” Mr. Liu said. He explained that the guesthouse had been operating in the area for five years, but this was the first time they had encountered the tracks of a wild giant panda. Unfortunately, there were no surveillance cameras in the area, so they were unable to capture a video of the panda itself.
In the video Mr. Liu posted, several fresh panda droppings were seen left in the snow, with clear six-fingered paw prints visible in the snow. After discovering the tracks, Mr. Liu reported the situation to the local forestry management station.
In response, Hu Qiang, the deputy director of the Mujiangping Protection Station at the Sichuan Wolong National Nature Reserve, told reporters that after receiving the report, the staff immediately went to the scene. “At the time, we could only see the traces left behind, but they were indeed from a giant panda,” Hu said. He further explained that when the staff arrived, the panda had likely already returned to the mountains.

“Overall, it seems to be in good health,” Hu added. He mentioned that the local authorities regularly inform the public about how to report wildlife sightings. This kind of situation, where a panda descends from the mountain, is relatively rare. Due to the cold weather and snow on the mountain, the wild giant pandas might descend to lower altitudes in search of food or water, especially when they are trying to find sustenance in winter.
This discovery highlights not only the close proximity of giant pandas to local communities but also underscores the importance of continuing to monitor and protect their natural habitat, particularly as they move between different altitudes in response to seasonal changes.