Chengdu News

　　“Now we can take the blood of the 35 captive pandas without anesthetic,” said experts from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. In the 18th Annual Conference of the Chinese Committee of Breeding Techniques for the Giant Panda, a research project launched by the American animal training experts and the Chengdu base and aimed at enabling pandas to get along well with feeders was announced a breakthrough after two-year hard work. Researchers can take the blood of all the 35 captive pandas without anesthetic; some even can receive the ultrasonic inspection and have their colostrums taken without anesthetic. Researchers will train some of the male pandas to adapt to semen collection without anesthetic.
　　The research project which includes how to make the panda obey the feeder’s command and how to build a direct communication between man and the panda is one of the most important parts of the field transition training. Before the training, when doing the routine examination of the hormone evacuation, researchers used the anesthetic or binding that protected the researchers, but easily hurt the panda. A researcher, Lan Jingchao, told the reporter: “After the training, the panda became more cooperative. This promotes the interrelated research much.
$page$　　“If this project goes well, maybe the panda can understand you and give you an apple.” said base director Zhang Zhihe. Last year, researchers successfully collected the colostrum because of the training.
　　Lan Jingchao told us that the research project has gotten a breakthrough, and researchers will reinforce the training of the blood collection, colostrum collection, and the intramuscular injection. Meanwhile, the base will start the semen collection program. All the projects will advance the artificial breeding technique.

　　Chengdu Weekly news