Saving The Endangered Giant Panda | Panda Nursery | Real Wild

[Music] the giant panda clings precariously to life on this planet today there are less than 1,000 pandas left in the wild but the fight to save the world's best loved bear now has its first small and furry victories these giant panda twins are part of a new generation of survivors they've been raised not just by pandas but humans in an amazing new partnership called swap raising these twin bears oh their lives and the future of their species - the team at the Panda nursery [Music] at the war log Nature Reserve and set you on China tension is running high at the breeding center female Giant Panda Asha has just gone into labor vets way wrong ping shares a special bond with this Panda he is nurtured a shower since she was rescued from the wild eight years ago Oh Shah is just one of a handful of breeding females at the reserved she's 11 years old and the best age to be a mother every care has been taken to make her comfortable she can stretch out in the wild she'd be squeezing into a cupping den in a cave or hollow tree a lot hinges on today with less than 1,000 pandas left in the wild it's important that this birth goes well three hours after going into labor her waters finally break [Music] all Bears have fairly short pregnancies and pandas take this to the extreme her showers has lasted just over three months two hours later I share a privileged moment a cub has just been born [Music] as a child goes to investigate this cub faces its first trial any careless move could flick this tiny life away [Music] the difference in size between mother and cub is the largest among true mammals and panda mothers have been known to accidentally squash the tiny Cubs [Music] Buttershaw has been a mother once before instinctively she knows what to do the tiny cub is blind and helpless many of its organs are not yet properly formed and must mature outside the protection of the womb but this mother will not be alone in raising her baby humans will also play their part wrong ping urgently needs to check the health of his fragile creature although docile I shall was born in the wild she may not welcome this human intrusion as vet romping picks up the tiny cub he begins a crucial partnership with his panda mother they will parent this newborn together unable to regulate its body temperature the cab is wrapped snugly for its journey to the Panda nursery a humble plastic bin carries hope for the future of a species on the brink of extinction it's a healthy boy weighing just over 100 grams that's less than 1,000 of its mother's weight in human terms that's akin to giving birth to a baby that could fit inside a matchbox this tiny creature has a very strong cry like a newborn baby it's helpless in every way and crying is its only lifeline the incubator will be this Cubs second home they've set the temperature and moisture content to mimic the feeling of being cuddled by a panda mother [Music] back in the birthing then something very special is happening there's a chance this youngster may not be an only child her Shah has gone into labor for a second time [Music] twin pandas are what everyone's hoping for like the other females at war long her she'll mated naturally last spring but she was also given artificial insemination there's a good chance that she's carrying twins even in the wild female pandas produce twins about half of the time [Music] herschel snacks on bamboo leaves to keep up her energy even though it makes up the bulk of their diet bamboo is not very nutritious this low energy diet may explain why panda mother's has such short pregnancies and give birth to such tiny young afternoon turns into evening [Music] then nearly eight hours after delivering our first twin Herschel gives birth to a second it's a moment of great celebration but they'll need to work fast even though twins are common giant panda mothers nearly always choose one twin to nurture abandoning the other cub almost immediately [Music] but again first how allows the vet to take a baby this twink is also a boy for most of the ten years that romping has been at the breeding center there was little to celebrate in the birth of twins our success comes from piles of dead babies this is because previously we had no success the death rate for twins was very high we had almost no success in raising twins we had mixed feelings when a twin was born on one hand we hoped for twins so that we could learn how to raise them on the other hand we felt depressed when they didn't survive established in the early 1980s the breeding center has raised more than 40 pandas but the raising of twins had always been a problem the abandoned twin raised in the nursery always died within days or weeks of being born three years ago came the breakthrough war long staff embarked on a bold but risky strategy if cubs needed their mother to survive they would have to share her they began the practice of swap raising panda twins starting from day one first house twins will lead a double life they will spend equal amounts of time with their mother and in the nursery so the odds of survival are even the biggest killer of Cubs is infection the twins immune systems are not yet fully developed and only their mother's milk can boost this fragile immunity even though she was born in the wild her shou allows her milk to be expressed wore long staff were the first in the world to express panda milk without anesthetic now both Cubs will get the benefits of urschel's first milk or colostrum which is packed full of life-saving antibodies for the first week this precious fluid will be added to the formula that each cub receives in the nursery they'll be fed more than a dozen times every day [Music] in the past there was little chance of abandoned twins surviving now with swap raising bran ping is hopeful these twins stand a fighting chance [Music] war long Nature Reserve is the largest panda reserve in China 150 pandas roam wild here that's over 1/10 of the entire world population in the heart of the reserve lies the breeding center it's home to over 40 pandas and vet way wrong ping knows everyone by name Pender's for ten years in the beginning I just saw them as animals now after so many years I regard them as my friends No yeah Jeong Jeong Jeong Jeong isn't well today I know every Pender's temperament I know whose eyebrows are longer who has got lines and patterns on his nose and who has black marks at the corner of his mouth whenever I see a panda or the photo of a panda I can tell who he or she is yes I know everything about every panda here the twin cubs that romping is helping to raise our just three days old so far both are in good health this week each cub is spending two days in the nursery and then two days with their mother ash how attends constantly to the needs of her tiny cut from all the animals I have seen she's the greatest mother in my opinion whenever the baby cries the mother can tell whether he is hungry cold all wants to relieve himself the newborns are so immature they're unable to toilet themselves her shower uses her tongue to gently stimulate the genital area so that the cub can pass urine and feces back in the nursery human carers must do the same although thankfully they don't have to perform the task in quite the same way as the panda mother we have a 24-hour watch on the babies every day we weigh the babies the amount of food they eat the amount of feces they pass the form and color of the feces can tell us how well their digestive system is working there's an unwritten rule that the breeding center that Cubs are only named once they've survived to six months for now the Cubs are simply called number one and number two ecotourism is on a roll in Scituate over 50,000 tourists visit the war log made to reserve every year they come to enjoy giant pandas in the natural habitat and contribute significantly to the local economy today the new arrivals are a big hit number two is just four days old and already his fur coat is thickening with tiny pink ears he's beginning to look more like a beer while giant pandas may be the world's best loved bears the irony is that we humans are their greatest threat in the last 300 years China's rapidly expanding human population has pushed the giant pandas back into six remote mountain locations were still many subpopulations are isolated from one another so there's a growing danger of inbreeding amongst wild pandas [Music] and even in these protected places there are people 4000 villagers live within the reserve descended from Tibetan Chang Hui and Hana ethnic groups they have lived here for generations like the pandas they to rely on this land for their survival the challenge for war long is to find a way for people and pandas to coexist within the reserve at 11 days old number one's black and white markings are already emerging and his fur is thickening whenever a cub is in the nursery it's an opportunity to give him a thorough health change I'll pay attention to the change in their cry body colour body hair bone growth and weight I'll observe whether they have enough energy or not we consider a baby healthy if it grows at the same pace as one raised by a panda mother chunkiness Annelle the demands of the newborns are so constant that way romping is on 24-hour call and lives at the center for much of the year [Music] he sees his own two and a half year old daughter zfa for only a handful of days each month from my point of view working with pandas I need to spend a lot more time communicating with the animals so that I can understand them better I spend much more time with panda babies than with my own daughter for the first three weeks Hershel cuddles the baby in her care constantly to keep it warm mother's in the wild rarely leave their dens at this critical time and can go without food and water for up to three weeks but at the center food is always on hand plenty of food means that OSHA remains strong and tips the balance in favor of the twins survival [Music] [Applause] the center grows some of its own bamboo but vast quantities are needed to feed the resident pandas with each panda eating up to 18 kilos daily the center needs a staggering 1,000 kilos of bamboo every day a group of local farmers is also employed to harvest umbrella and sweet bamboo and bring it up the mountain to the center [Music] giant pandas have evolved in their own unique way they're actually carnivores that have become vegetarian but because their stomachs aren't built for processing plant food they can only digest about a fifth of what they eat so adult pandas must spend most of their day feeding [Music] although not designed as vegetarians pandas have adapted to their diet in a number of clever ways they've developed broad flat molar teeth and massive jaw muscles ideal for crunching bamboo but the most clever adaptation lies in the giant pandas pause pandas can pick up and hold things they've evolved their own version of an opposable thumb it's actually an elongated wristband which works in conjunction with the fingers to grasp and hold on to bamboo stems that's why pandas can feed in their characteristics sitting pose now nearly three weeks old the bonds between the Cubs and their surrogate parent is growing daily and like any dead wrong ping delights in those special moments [Music] patios hallway yes he got they are the same as me I think of them as my friends I see the pan Cubs as human kids because they really do have human feelings Hershel is always alert to the needs of her tiny baby [Music] in the rest of the bear family Cubs must find their mothers teat to suckle but this is not the case with giant pandas Oh she'll actively engages in suckling her cub at the moment she's feeding number one more than a dozen times a day [Music] back in the nursery number two is now old enough to be fed outside the incubator in the past bottle-feeding contributed to the high death rate of panda babies cubs often died of pneumonia after milk was accidently taken down the windpipe into their lungs now changes to nipples and holding positions means those days are a distant memory the cubs are swapped regularly so that neither is rejected by her show tonight number two is going back to his mother but first Rong ping must take number one away from the den the vet can never take her showers cooperation for granted now that the Cubs are three weeks old they'll be swapped every ten days [Music] this is always a critical moment Virchow hasn't seen number two for nearly a week [Music] the partnership between humans and panda mother is working well so far [Music] it's important to check that both Cubs are growing at the same rate in the past often one would be much smaller than the other but both now weigh nearly aquila in just three weeks there are staggering 10 times their birth weight while number two gets instant attention from ur Shah in the nursery number one must make his needs clearly known a new formula has also contributed to the dramatic turnaround and Cubs survival in the past panda babies were fed on a cow's milk formula which was hard to digest now thanks to a partnership with San Diego Zoo Cubs are fed a new formula based on a recipe for American black bears milk this closely mimics the high fat content of giant panda milk and is easily digested by the babies the Cubs are still incredibly vulnerable but they've made it through their first month of life over the next four weeks legs begin to strengthen eyes begin to open but toileting still needs outside assistance the work is constant and exhausting but everyone is convinced it's worth it [Music] even when a carb is with his mother wrong ping visits regularly to make sure it's in good health butter sure isn't in the mood to cooperate but the vet is persistent wrong ping knows from hard experience how vulnerable these babies still are 10 years ago and fresh from vet school he lost one of the first Cubs he ever raised at warlin soldiers he died at nine months the reason was in two Rytas he was a big active guy he played with me every day we became very close and suddenly he was gone I felt very sad I'd raised this panda to so big and then he dies it felt like losing a friend [Music] although the learning curve has been steep and sometimes traumatic wore long now has the best breeding and cub survival rates in the world but these twins will only thrive if they both get the care and attention they need from their mother [Music] winter is enveloping the landscape of southwestern China the twins are 11 weeks old and weigh a hefty five kilos they're putting on about half a kilo every week their toddlers and like all toddlers cooperating with the adults isn't high on their list of priorities [Music] and it's not just the humans that are finding the Cubs more than a handful [Music] the incubator is no longer big enough to house the increasingly active cubs romping prepares a playpen which will become the cubs new home whenever they're in the nursery [Music] it's a good place to strengthen leg muscles and practice motor skills [Music] but maybe that can wait until tomorrow [Music] now nearly three months old the Cubs first teeth have begun to appear teething coincides with the decided interest in the green staff bamboo may not be very nutritious but it's available all year round scientists think that this might be one reason why giant pandas have no need to hibernate others speculate that it's bamboos lack of nutrition which means these Bears can't build up enough fat reserves to sustain them through winter and hibernation but in fact bamboo isn't always this plentiful that's because this plant has a very unusual lifecycle bamboo normally multiplies by spreading its roots but once every few decades a particular species will flower and that's a time of huge danger for pandas when bamboo blossoms it bears seed withers and dies in colder regions it can take as long as 20 years to grow back again and if it's the only species in the region then local pandas are left stranded and starving when two species began flowering in these mountains in 1983 the result was catastrophic in the decade that followed 140 pandas died of starvation others were rescued and brought to centers such as warlock and today warlin continues to give emergency treatment to wild pandas this female has been brought in from new Xiang County she's suffering head injuries after a fool her back legs are paralyzed so she's been unable to feed this little they can do but make her comfortable with so few pandas left in the wild even the loss of one is a blow to everyone at the center [Applause] her Shah has remained indoors with her cubs for their first 12 weeks only now is she allowed out for her first stroll in the neighborhood in the wild mother's leave their cubs at a much earlier age in order to forage for food left by himself number one takes his very first steps [Music] oh sure now takes time to catch up with the neighbors although considered solitary animals in the wild pandas socialize in their own peculiar way they use scent markings to communicate scent messaging is the pantera equivalent of email a scent communicates a panda's identity when the message was left and information such as who's more dominant or who's ready to mate part of wolong's breeding success has been to recognize the importance of scent marking and to give pandas ample opportunity to investigate each other's smells [Music] the slippery floor in the playpen makes learning to walk more like learning to skate [Music] weighing in at seven and a half kilos number one quite literally tips the scales meanwhile number two is still struggling to come to terms with bamboo finally he gets his first taste most carbs start nibbling at about six months so at just four months old he's ahead of his game but success is short and sweet although he's had his first taste bamboo won't become his main diet until he's 15 months old the Cubs are needing more and more stimulation in the nursery oh you scratched me little lad the best playmates for the twins are each other it's a good way for the two brothers to finally get to know one another swap raising has meant they've rarely spent any time together since the day they were born your twin boys are growing at the same speed in previous years through huge differences with our twin cubs but it looks as if they were brought up together play fighting is an important life skill for these youngsters in the wild adult males must know how to challenge and compete it becomes a vital skill in the breeding season when they must fight for the right to mate with a female [Music] at the center all Cubs over four months old a fed milk from bowls rather than bottles it's a skill with outcomes now need to learn after a bit of encouragement number two has no difficulty with the prospect how much but it's a different story with number one a no amount of coaxing can win him round [Music] beau drinking lessons are put on hold for another day [Music] now that the Cubs can toilet themselves they're about to go back to their mother for full-time care this is a critical moment in the swap raising strategy so shark has never had both Cubs to look after it fine the main reason for giving him back is to let them pick up behavior from their mothers if the babies spend most of their time with humans they would mistakenly regard us as their own kind and become reliant on us the behaviors they learn from us will not help their future survival in the wild [Music] thou must now look after two energetic Cubs day and night on her own this will be a huge task for this panda mother and one which would rarely occur in the wild unable to even hold both Cubs at the same time she copes by devoting herself only to number two having come so far there's now the very real danger that number one will be rejected by Osho [Music] it's the height of winter in warlock the starkness of the frozen landscape mirrors the markings of the pandas themselves some speculate that their black and white coloring may be camouflage on these dappled snowy slopes others think that panda markings have a very different purpose it may be that these bold statements of black and white make it easier for pandas to spot one another from far away that way these usually solitary creatures can avoid each other for most of the year but find each other during mating season which is now just one month away meanwhile family bonding is not going well Virchow is still giving most attention to number two we're still number one seems unhappy in the den and doesn't want to be with his mother either your mother doesn't want you your mother is on the other side the bamboo is delicious you need to take care of yourself do you need to leave your mother your sons [Music] Wow finally wrong thing takes number one back to the nursery for the evening it's the place where this cub feels most at home we are now facing a dilemma we want to establish a good relationship with the pandas because this makes her work with them easier on the other hand because we want to return them to the wild we need to reduce human influences as much as possible after three days he tries once more to reintroduce number one to his family [Music] this is the ultimate dilemma of shared care number one is more bonded to his human care than his mother and makes his feelings very clear [Music] but wrong paying is patient and persistent and after hours of coaxing there seems to be a breakthrough [Music] but it's early days romping we'll need to watch the family very closely over the coming week outdoors adult giant pandas are also working on their relationships with breeding season fast approaching they shake off their usually docile natures and become decidedly frisky this female is Fei Fei she's been put in one of the larger enclosures with potential mate Zhang Zhang it's a chance for them to get to know each other before the mating season actually begins there's a huge increase in scent marking at this time of year females scent mark to advertise their fertility female urine contains chemical cues which let males know how ready they are to mate males scent mark for territorial reasons in the mating season they must compete with other males for the right to mate with a female they use scent marking to let other males know how big and strong they are since larger animals will leave their scent marks higher up a tree male pandas go to extraordinary lengths to exaggerate their height even doing handstands to get their scent as high up the tree as possible as the day's progress female behavior is becoming increasingly bizarre a sure sign that they're about to come into heat [Music] walking backwards and rolling indicate that a female is nearing her most fertile period [Music] male pandas in captivity seldom mate naturally and many show little or no interest in sexual activity so most breeding centers rely on artificial insemination but not so at war on although artificial insemination is also used most females make naturally every single year roomy enclosures with lots of trees to climb and socializing like this before mating season even begins are the secrets to war long success at last after three and certain weeks the family has bonded Virchow is now a more accepting of number one and he too seems more settled in the family dinner the irony is that they only have a few short weeks left together [Music] breeding season is now in full swing all breeding males and females have been moved back into smaller pens so that mating activity can be controlled and monitored potential mates have been housed next to each other so that they can continue to interact through the cage mesh Feifei is now stopped scent-marking it's a good indicator that she's about to ovulate timing is everything in panda mating if the pair are introduced too soon and Feifei isn't ready there could be fighting in the past some females have been seriously hurt too late and there's the danger of missing a phase most fertile period with females ovulating just once a year it's critical that they get the timing just right wrong ping decides that now is the time male daddy is introduced into the pen but it's a disaster daddy is too aggressive wrong pen must separate them before Fei Fei is seriously injured the match hasn't there's now the very real danger that Feifei won't become pregnant this season the Cubs are enjoying their last few weeks with their shall Cubs in the wild and only stay with their mother until they're 18 months old but here Cubs are taken away at six months so that their mothers could be mated once again [Music] although war long is having good success worldwide pandas in captivity are not breeding well enough to maintain their own numbers so it's vital that all reading females mate every year but time is running out for Feifei female giant pandas are only on heat for a handful of days romping has put it next to another potential mate she model all hopes are now pinned on this match going well [Music] the signs are looking good you all has done a good job the duration of the meeting is pretty long it's a success we've waited all day for this it's one day to the spring festival or Chinese New Year in just under a week the Cubs will begin their new lives away from their mother they're thriving and since they're nearly six months old they can be given names number one will now be Lin her which means Forest River and number two will be Ling high forest see fitting names for animals that desperately need more forests if they're to survive [Music] it's New Years Eve families all over China are farewelling the year of the snake and welcoming the year of the horse romping wife.she Hongmei and daughter's fa have traveled the rough mountain roads to be with him at war lon it's the biggest night of the year and the first time since they were married that they've been able to spend New Year's Eve together tonight is the last night that the Cubs will spend with him other tomorrow they will go to a new enclosure and OSHA will be prepared for this year's mating season the Cubs new enclosure is given a last-minute spring clean with the help of daughters fa finally it's time to separate the family these are the last few moments that air shall we'll ever spend with her Cubs six months of tireless mothering must now come to an end [Music] shall we take no babies away today we say bye-bye to you he's running away by himself let's go time to leave [Applause] Faline her and lien hi it's a whole new world out there with new skills to learn like living outdoors and foraging for their own food a Malden is similar to Boleyn the ultimate aim of our research is to return the pandas to their original habitat to increase the number of pandas in the wild what were you doing now is to put them into a semi-wild environment then we can reduce the amount of food we provide and reduce our human influence on them in this way we help them to adapt to a life in the wild yes you're part owner while the twins are adapting well to their newfound freedoms Berkshire has been upset and has been calling for her babies but today she's moved into a large enclosure and is settling into life without the Cubs [Music] in three years from now lean her Orlean hi maybe one of the Cubs chosen to return to the wild the place where their mother was born they will need to learn how to survive in a world without humans the days in the Panda nursery are now behind them and ahead lies the biggest adventure of them all [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Real Wild

Views: 796,887

Rating: 4.8473697 out of 5

Keywords: nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, big cats, wildlife documentary, discovery channel, national geographic, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, planet earth, david attenborough, Full Animal Documentary, wild animals, wild animal, PANDA, panda doc, giant panda, panda sanctuary, giant panda sanctuary china, sichuan giant panda sanctuaries, giant panda sanctuary, giant panda documentary, full length documentary

Id: dfHTFXfpswA

Length: 49min 48sec (2988 seconds)

Published: Sat May 23 2020