New faces in Panda Valley

China yesterday began sending pandas bred in captivity into a protected area in south-western Sichuan province, the most ambitious attempt to rebuild the country’s population of giant pandas in a natural habitat.

The first six pandas selected from 108 raised by the Chengdu Giant Panda Rehabilitation Project were released for “wildlife training” in a forest area covering more than 320 acres called Panda Valley. Those that adapt well will be released into a wider controlled wilderness area.

An estimated 1,600 pandas live in the wild, their numbers dwindling from poaching and encroaching development.

Chinese media reported that of ten pandas released since 1983, only two are still there. Six were brought back after severe weight loss, one was found dead and another is believed to have died.