Heartbreaking! 8-Month-Old Panda Dies of Suffocation After Getting Entangled in Climbing Rope
On April 10th, the official Weibo account of the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center released a message stating that the panda at the Shenshiping Base, 'Lu Lu Ai' (born on August 10, 2019), died on the night of August 9 due to strangulation caused by a tangled climbing rope. The death occurred 7 hours after being discovered by keepers.
Journalists learned that at the time of the incident, the panda base was conducting a live broadcast, and many netizens paid attention to the abnormalities of 'Lu Lu Ai' in the live broadcast page. Currently, the toys with long ropes in the base's live broadcast have disappeared.
Regarding this incident, the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center stated that it will learn from the experience, investigate security hazards, and strengthen night patrols.
Giant panda strangled to death by toy rope, found dead 7 hours later
The China Giant Panda Protection Research Center's official bulletin stated that on April 9, 2020, the panda 'Lu Lu Ai' at the Shenshiping Base of the Protection Center died due to strangulation caused by a tangled climbing rope.
The bulletin stated that around 2:00 AM on September 9th, 'Lu Lu Ai' was playing with a toy climbing rope on the outdoor playground of the kindergarten in the Shenshiping Base, and then the cub tangled the rope around its neck, began to struggle, and after a few minutes, the cub stopped struggling and died. Due to the late-night incident and the difficulty in distinguishing between the cub's resting posture and the rope-wrapped posture, the night patrol personnel failed to notice the abnormality, and the keepers discovered the cub about 9:00 PM and notified the veterinarian. After examination, the veterinarian confirmed that the cub had died and collected samples for testing.
It is reported that the Shenshiping Base of the Protection Center conducts live broadcasts through the 'Panda Channel' App, and many users watch the live broadcast. A screenshot of a comment from a user in the Shenshiping Base live broadcast page shows that a user commented: 'This little baby was entangled in the ball last night, so it was hanging there. I saw it at 2 o'clock in the morning, it was playing with this ball, and then at 7:30 PM, the baby was hanging there until the nanny came to clean.'
On April 11th at 21:20, all three live broadcast rooms of the Shenshiping Base of the Protection Center had more than 100,000 viewers, with a peak of 469,000. Reporters noticed that in each live broadcast room's camera, there were several pandas, either lying on a wooden shelf or climbing on a tree, and the toys with long rope-like objects were no longer visible in the live broadcast.
The cub died at only 8 months old, separated from its mother and transferred to the kindergarten after weaning.
According to the bulletin, 'Lu Lu Ai' was a female panda born on August 10, 2019. When it died on the outdoor playground of the kindergarten in the Shenshiping Base, 'Lu Lu Ai' was only 8 months old.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on January 17th, 2019, the '2019 Class' new giant panda cubs at the Shenshiping Base of the Protection Center were officially showcased.
According to the breeder Li Feng of the Protection Center's Shenshiping Base, of the 32 giant panda cubs born in 2019, 17 were male and 15 were female, among which 10 pairs were twins. The panda cubs were healthy and lively, and all their growth and development indicators were good.
'Lu Lu Ai' was one of them.
According to the website of the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center, under captive conditions, giant panda cubs are typically weaned between about half a year and one and a half years old, and weaning is determined based on factors such as whether the mother panda participates in the next year's breeding plan, the mother panda's body condition and lactation, and the growth and development of the cubs.
After weaning, the giant panda cubs will be raised by 'panda nannies' and 'panda dads', and they will generally be concentrated in the panda kindergarten with other cubs of the same age, where they will learn from each other. About half a year old giant panda cubs will continue to be fed artificial milk.
The official stated that it will learn from the experience and 3 months ago, it had stated that it would establish a monitoring system.
In response to 'Lu Lu Ai's' death, the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center stated in its bulletin on April 10th that it will further strengthen the safety inspection and evaluation of the environment where young giant pandas are deployed, completely investigate the security hazards in the park, and at the same time, strengthen night patrols to avoid such incidents happening again.
Regarding the toys appearing in the base, Mr. Zhang Guiquan, head of the Management Office of the Shenshiping Base of the Protection Center, stated in an article published on September 27, 2019 on the website of the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center that, under captive conditions, the body condition of giant pandas does not affect the breeding work, and in order to address the problem of insufficient activity for these pandas, the center has pioneered research and application of environmental enrichment technology in China, creating a diversified living environment for giant pandas, with the double-space outdoor enclosure extending into indoor and outdoor enclosures, and the outdoor activity space is equipped with various 'toys' for giant pandas to play with.
In an article published by the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center on January 17, 2019, it can be seen that the Shenshiping Base contains multiple toys hanging with long ropes.
According to the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center, the Shenshiping Base, established in 2008 after the '5.12' earthquake, is located in the Wulong National Nature Reserve Management Area of Sichuan Province, near the town of Gensida in the Wulong National Nature Reserve, with an area of 150 hectares.
The China Giant Panda Protection Research Center has been stationed at the Shenshiping Base, with tourists visiting since 2016. In 2017, the Shenshiping Base formally assumed the breeding function of the Protection Center, and 19 pandas were born there.
At the 2019 National Giant Panda Breeding Technology Conference held at the end of 2019, it was announced that there are currently 600 giant pandas kept in captivity worldwide, and the giant panda population kept by the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center accounts for more than 50% of the global captive giant panda population, which is the largest captive giant panda population in terms of individual number and genetic structure, and with the most vibrant genetic diversity.
On March 20th, 2019, the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center issued a statement saying 'Gathering strength to prevent and control epidemics, safeguarding national treasures.' The statement mentioned that the Chengdu Baiheying and Quechengsan in Ya'an, Chengdu, and Jianggan in Sichuan, as well as the Wulong Shenshiping and Wulong Taipeiping bases, house a total of 182 giant pandas. Regarding the management of the various panda bases, the statement said that a comprehensive inspection would be conducted, and a monitoring system would be established, linking the keepers, veterinarians and researchers in a joint defense and monitoring system to monitor the condition of the giant pandas and their associated animals in a timely manner.
Source: Qingdao Daily
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