Update from China!

Names: Chelsey Butler and Catherine Jenkins
Class Year: 2019 & 2020
Hometown: Williamstown, WV and Proctorville, OH
Internship: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Location Chengdu, Sichuan, China

The past two weeks we have started collecting data for our research project. We had to learn which panda is which within a short amount of time but after a couple of days we were able to distinguish Qing Da and Qing Xiao. The twin brothers are housed in the Giant Panda Number 2 House along with 4 other pandas. Each day we collect data on the pandas for one to one and a half hours in the morning and thirty minutes to an hour in the afternoon. In the afternoons before collecting data we are able to go with James and see how he trains the pandas.

Last week, James took us on a road trip to see another part of Panda Base called Panda Valley. It is located in Dujiangyuan which is an hour away from Chengdu. This is where the beginning of the reintroduction training starts for the pandas. Panda Valley has beautiful scenery and a large diversity of plants and animals. Pandas were the main attraction but we also saw many different species of lizards, butterflies, snakes, and a squirrel!

A couple of weekends ago we went to see the Leshan Giant Buddha. It's truly amazing how large and massive the Buddha is along with how it has been preserved over the years. It was said in the ancient poem that the Leshan Giant Buddha was carved into the rock face by the river. At the Leshan Giant Buddha there was a spot where you are able to see three rivers merge. There were also many beautiful views of the water and the city.

At IFS they were having Nature Connects, it was presented by Chengdu IFS and showcased the artist Sean Kenney's work. Each sculpture was built with LEGO pieces. At each location there was the name of the sculpture, such as Bison or Dodo, along with how many blocks it took to build and a fact about that sculpture. The exhibit was used to promote education to the public about conserving different biomes and the animals that you can find in them.