Bifengxia Panda Base

Bifengxia Panda Base
A giant panda at the Bifengxia Panda Base
Map
30°04′19″N 102°58′34″E / 30.0720°N 102.9762°E / 30.0720; 102.9762
Date opened2004
LocationYa'an, Sichuan, China
Websitewww.bifengxia.com

Bifengxia Giant Panda Base (Chinese: 大熊猫研究中心碧峰峡基地; pinyin: dàxióngmāo yánjiū zhōngxīn bìfēngxiá jīdì) is a giant panda research and breeding facility in Bifengxia Town, Ya'an, Sichuan, China.[1] Since opening in 2004, it has become home to several more giant pandas. This includes the U.S.-born Hua Mei and Mei Sheng, who were relocated there after the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake severely damaged the panda breeding center at the Wolong National Nature Reserve. Both facilities are managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.

The Vienna Zoo-born male panda Fu Long (b. 2007) was relocated to Bifengxia in November, 2009.[2] On February 5, 2010, Bifengxia became home to Tai Shan, who was born at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.[3][4] Later that year, Su Lin and Zhen Zhen from the San Diego Zoo were also moved here.[5]

In 2008, there were 13 baby pandas surviving in the Bifengxia Base. On February 12, 2009, the base held a simple ceremony for these small ones as they attended the panda kindergarten. The giant pandas, who temporarily lived in the Bifengxia Base, returned to the Wolong National Nature Reserve after its restoration that took between two or three years.

  1. ^ "Background Information About Chengdu and Bifengxia". National Zoological Park. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04.
  2. ^ "Fu Long settles into his home at the Bifengxia Panda Base". Panda Lives On. Dec 20, 2009. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "Giant Panda Tai Shan Leaves Smithsonian's National Zoo for China". Smithsonian's National Zoo. Feb 4, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  4. ^ "Giant Panda Tai Shan Arrives in China". National Zoological Park. Archived from the original on 2010-03-15.
  5. ^ "Su Lin, Zhen Zhen Update". San Diego Zoo. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.