Giant Pandas Branch Out, 'Flying Squirrels' Glide High... Springtime at Tangjiahe Nature Reserve is Lively
On March 17th, reporters from Sichuan Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve announced that two locations of giant panda sightings were discovered on March 17th in a single day, with one location capturing footage of the giant panda’s activity. In addition to the patrolling giant pandas, park staff also captured a video of a flying squirrel’s aerial gliding flight while releasing a gray-headed squirrel.
Mount Mota Ling, Tiger Gou, four video recordings of giant pandas have been recorded since last year.
On March 17th, Mount Mota Ling protection station staff conducted infrared camera grid monitoring and discovered another giant panda activity scene. The last time a giant panda was discovered was only 28 days ago, and the two discoveries were in different locations. The giant panda’s shooting scene was located in Mount Mota Ling Tiger Gou, at an altitude of 2103 meters. After identification by staff, the giant panda in the picture was an adult male individual.
Location map of panda sightings and samples collection
The area’s low-altitude section is dominated by deciduous broadleaf forests, while the high-altitude section is dominated by coniferous mixed forests, growing various bamboo species such as Sichuan fir, coarse flower bamboo, and vacant bamboo, providing abundant food resources for giant pandas. At the same time, the area is also distributed with horned antelopes, Sichuan golden monkeys, red-bellied serows, black bears, and golden cats. Tiger Gou has recorded four videos of giant pandas since 2019.
“Flying squirrel” show its superb skills, jumping and gliding more than ten meters away on the tree tops.
Spring has come, and the nature reserve has become lively. In addition to the patrolling and territorial giant pandas, recently, a flying squirrel with its own flight suit also came to the nature reserve. The newly released flying squirrel “” shot up the tree. Afterwards, it climbed to the approximately seven or eight-meter-high tree top, observed for a moment, then took a leap, spread its limbs, and glided across the sky, landing on a grassy area more than ten meters away in a few seconds and disappeared into the distant forest.
Gray-headed squirrel
On March 6th, the Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve received a phone call from a villager reporting the discovery of a flying animal in Jinqiao Village. After receiving the call, the nature reserve organized relevant personnel to quickly rush to the scene. The animal had a reddish-brown ring around its eyes; a brown patch behind its ears; gray head, neck, and shoulder; red-brown limbs and flying membrane edges; gray tail with a slight brown color, with a slight black color on the tail.
Gray-headed squirrel
After identification by the protection and scientific monitoring departments, it was identified as an adult gray-headed squirrel (Petaurista caniceps), belonging to the rodent order squirrel family. Park staff conducted a detailed examination of it, confirming that it was in a healthy condition with stable vital signs, and then released it back into the protection area in Caijiaba region.
Red Star News reporter Ye Yan Lin Cong Picture and video provided by Sichuan Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve
Editor Liu Yu Peng
Petaurista caniceps
