Giant panda wanders into village in SW China

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01:18

Locals in Wenchuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province on Thursday were delighted with a surprise encounter with a giant panda who they found roaming around their village.

The panda was first spotted at around 09:00 a.m., wandering among houses, seemingly in search of food. It strolled along a vegetable garden and trotted across a dirt road as it continued its exploratory mission, before climbing up a tree.

The panda went about its business and seemed totally unfazed by the attention of a large group of curious bystanders who gathered to see the unexpected visitor.

CGTN Photo‍

Researchers at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda confirmed the panda to be Zhenzhen, an 11-year-old female who had been raised in captivity but was recently released into the wild as part of a special breeding project.

"She's a test subject for our breeding project. She's been in the project for about two months. When she's in the amorous period, we let her out of the enclosure, hoping that she might mate with wild pandas," said Wu Daifu, director of the Hetaoping wild training base with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, in a telephone interview with China Central Television (CCTV).

Zhenzhen was set free in the Tiantaishan Area of the Wolong National Nature Reserve on March 5. With the village being adjacent to the Wolong reserve, pandas may occasionally wander into view, according to Wu.

After allowing Zhenzhen several hours to explore her new surroundings, researchers returned the panda back to the Wolong's Shenshuping Panda Base. There she will be given the very best care, with staff optimistic that the breeding program has already been a success and working under the assumption that the panda may already be pregnant.

"We are not exactly sure whether Zhenzhen has mated with wild pandas, so we will just assume she already did and we will take great care of her, hoping she will surprise us," Wu said.