Tracking the elusive panda in the mountains of W Sichuan

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‍By CGTN’s Joseph Catanzaro, Zhou Xi

Western Sichuan, a region of southern China where daunting mountain ranges touch the sky, is no place for the faint hearted.

CGTN's Rediscovering China accompanied a team of rangers and researchers as they headed out on an expedition into the wild Wolong Nature Reserve.

These mountains are home to the giant panda, a species that up until recently was facing extinction. This is the frontline in China’s bid to bring the panda back from the brink.

Faeces help researchers determine the gender, diet and overall health of individual wild pandas. /CGTN Photo

The researchers' mission takes them weeks into the wilderness, thousands of meters above sea level in unforgiving conditions. It’s a mission of mercy, one they’ve made many times before and will do again, in a bid to save China’s most iconic animal.

A forest ranger of Wolong Nature Reserve told us that sometimes they were surprised by a sighting of a wild animal when they were patrolling the mountains.

On our outing, we were lucky to get close to a mother and her cub. This is something rarely, if ever, seen by outsiders: a panda in its natural habitat.

Concerted conservation efforts are bearing results, but it’s not enough for these creatures to simply survive. In the mountains of Sichuan, the fight to help the giant panda reclaim its natural habitat, continues.

Rediscovering China is a 30-minute features program offering in-depth reports on the major issues facing China today. It airs Sunday at 10.30 a.m. BJT (0230GMT), with a rebroadcast at 11.30 p.m. (1530GMT), as well as Monday 8.30 a.m. (0030GMT) and Friday 1.30 p.m. (0530GMT).