Event Description
Anne Castiglioni, MS student, BEES
The effect of an assisted soft release protocol on fecal cortisol and anti-predator behavior in captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a global symbol of conservation and China’s national treasure. However, less than 2,000 individuals are estimated to exist in fragmented populations spanning over six mountain ranges in China's Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Conservation efforts have focused on habitat preservation and reintroduction of giant pandas in an effort to increase their numbers in the wild. The human-assisted soft release reintroduction method has been used successfully with orphaned American black bear (Ursus americanus) by Benjamin Kilham, PhD, of the Kilham Bear Center, Lyme, New Hampshire.
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding of Sichuan, China adopted this method and are the first to apply it to giant panda reintroduction. My talk will discuss this reintroduction method and my MS thesis research that evaluated the fecal cortisol and anti-predator behavior of captive giant panda juveniles in the reintroduction program of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
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