Chengdu News

　　“He is the last photographer who can shoot wild giant pandas,” commented the French magazine, Le Figaro Magazine, in 2000.
　　Shuttling in the brambly virgin forest and groping in the inky unmanned protection area, it is imaginably difficult to discover any trail of pandas. However, the photographer mentioned above has been devoted himself to finding and shooting giant pandas in forests for more than 30 years. His footprint has covered most of giant panda protection areas of our country. His name is Pu Tao, a 70-year-old photographer who persists in shooting wild giant pandas till now. People who know him always call him “Mr. Panda” or “Panda Pu”.
　　Pu Tao was born in a poor rural family in Anyue County, Sichuan Province, and graduated from Sichuan Forestry School. He started his nature photography career in the 1950s. On a cold winter day in 1972, he visited Wanglang National Nature Reserve in Pingwu County for nature photographs and he was deeply attracted by the giant panda for its cute appearance and lovely images. Since then, photographing giant pandas and sharing their pictures all over the world has been his dream in the following decades. To realize this dream, he has toured 80% counties with panda distribution in China, shot over10, 000 rolls of film and contributed time and efforts of 35 years.
$page$　　The First Disturbance
　　It is rather difficult to spot giant pandas in the wild, let alone photographing them nicely. From 1972 to 1974, it was the first phase of Mr. Panda’s photography career. In 1972, Pu Tao became a member of an investigation team to survey the living situation of wild giant pandas in Wanglang National Reserve. He was the photographer of the team. However, as a freshman, he had few experience on shooting pandas. “Our team wandered in the virgin forest of the Reserve day and night together with local hunters and coursers so that they could help us to find wild pandas. However, what made us disappointed is that we couldn’t find any trail of pandas even though we had found the fresh and fumy dejection of them.”
　　All the team members were involved in the depressed atmosphere. One day, at the verge of giving up, a local Tibetan who was familiar with the Reserve told them that just on the tree ahead, there was a panda mother with “her” son. “Good news blew away disappointment at once. We followed the Tibetan and rushed to the tree, accompanying by the yip of coursers.”
$page$　　“Indeed, we saw the two pandas. But being afraid of the yip, the mother panda escaped, leaving the little son screaming on the tree. My camera only recorded the amazed little panda. That’s not what I wanted. The happy life of the mom and her son was disturbed by us. The little son was separated from his mother because of us, a group of crashers.” Fortunately, the hunters kept the coursers from the little panda so that the experts could save it. The little guy was brought back by experts and after several years’ captive life; it was freed to the wild in Baoxing, another giant panda reserve located in Ya’an City. “From then on, I witnessed the little guy’s growth till “he” became such a strong chap that “he” could fight against me. I gave him a name, ‘Maomao’,” Pu Tao said.
　　3:4 and 20:1
　　After the first failure, Pu Tao accumulated a lot of experience on shooting. He tried his best to photograph the most beautiful and artless moment of giant pandas. Therefore, he always mentioned tow pairs of data, 3:4 and 20:1. 3:4 means that “during the three years, from 1972 to 1974, I just got 4 pieces of pictures of giant pandas that I felt satisfied.” 20:1 means that “to shoot a scene that a giant panda drank on the frozen lake, I waited for more than 20 days.”
$page$　　Among thousands of giant panda pictures shot by Pu Tao from 1972 to 1974, he is only satisfied with four photos. “It’s very difficult to get a perfect scene. I couldn’t make giant pandas felt the existence of me. I have to hide myself in a safety place and work. Sometime, I might observe in front of my lens a whole day without pressing a shutter. While, sometime, I may continue to shoot the consecutive movements of a giant panda but only got one just passable picture,” Pu Tao said.
　　Hanging on the wall of Pu Tao’s studio, there is a piece of picture showing a thirsty giant panda drinking on the frozen lake with relaxed appearance. It’s one of his masterpieces. “For this picture, I waited for more than twenty days.” It’s really a hard-won work. “Although I was sure that there should be giant pandas living in the forest around the lake, I never discovered any trace of them even twenty days had passed. In a cold morning, when I woke up, I found such a wonderful scene. A giant panda was drinking on the frozen lake. It stood at the verge of ice, plunging his head into the water. In a pure white snow world, such a lovely guy enjoyed the sweet water peacefully. I couldn’t wait to press my shutter, getting this picture.”
$page$　　According to Pu Tao, patience is the most important for shooting wild giant pandas. “You can never exactly judge when the panda will come and what behavior they will show. The only thing you could do is to wait patiently.”
　　Fight against Maomao
　　Like human beings, giant pandas also have their love, wedding and breed cubs. In the breeding season, it is often the case that a female panda attracts several males together and a tight fight is inevitable. Sometimes, two males fight and sometimes three males fight together, or even more fight together. The final winner can be the bridegroom for the bride. At the wedding, they chase each other and settle their wedding house in the forest, bamboo grooves and clusters of flowers, with other animals, birds cheering and singing blessing to them.
　　“That’s a very moving and precious scene. And to shoot that scene is a great challenge for me,” Pu Tao said. To shoot panda mating, Maomao, the panda saved by Pu Tao, became his model. When Maomao grew up to one year old, it fell in love with a female panda lady. “I observed their behavior for a long time and photographed.” However, Maomao was enraged after “he” felt some crasher was spying on their privacy, throwing “himself” toward Pu Tao and scratching him with its paws. “I had to fight against Maomao and was injured during the fighting. Fortunately, I was saved my counterparts.” Injured by such a lovely panda, Pu Tao felt a little bit sad. “Anyhow, I exposed Maomao’s privacy,” he said drolly.
$page$　　Although being wounded and frightened, Pu Tao got a very precious picture of pandas’ mating. He may be the only one photographer who shot the scene of wild giant pandas.
　　Ample Fruit and Wonderful Life
　　Today, most of his works are published at home and abroad, including I Am A Giant Panda, China Giant Panda Garden-Wolong National Nature Reserve, Giant Panda of China, Giant Panda published in China, Secret World of Giant Panda published in the United States, Giant Panda published in Japan, ect. Some of his works of wild giant pandas were published by famous pictorials and magazines, such as People’s Pictorial, China Reports, People & China at home, Le Figaro Magazine Pictorial and Life Magazine of France, Asahi News of Japan, Travel in China of HongKong SAR, Land Geography of Taiwan Province.
　　In the past years, he held five times of large Panda Photographs Show in Beijing, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as in the United States, Japan and Switzerland. Some of his works have won awards at various exhibitions. Giant Panda is a highly endangered wildlife and the last Giant Panda Survey revealed that there are only about 1,500 individuals in the wild today, living in the a vast area of high mountains. “To record their live situation and show the harmony of human being, nature and wildlife is my lifelong career. I hope the cute appearance of giant panda will spread all over the world,” Pu Tao said.
$page$　　Pu Tao is planning his new giant panda pictures exhibition which will probably be held in Beijing in 2008.
　　by Yu Ting