Back in November 2017 I made my second visit to the Chengdu Panda Base and spent a whole day here, which is definitely what you need to see everything more than once! On my first visit I took public transport to get to the base, this time round I took a taxi, so got there much earlier – from the centre of Chengdu it took under 30 minutes and cost around 50RMB. Getting here earlier made the difference with both beating some traffic and seeing the pandas more active in the morning. When the pandas slowed down for an afternoon snooze, I stopped off in a cafe for a break too, then did my second lap of the Base later in the day. Hopefully you enjoy this selection of photos from my trip!
Since this trip, I don’t think I’ve seen pandas in these indoor enclosures on either my 2018 or 2019 visits, so I wonder if they’re veering away from these style of indoor enclosures, or at least using them less in the Winter months when it’s not as warm outside as in the Summer. But these guys were all enjoying their large pile of bamboo shoots to snack on, it was all they did while I watched on for around 15 minutes! I do have to say that while the indoor viewing areas often look busy, most people don’t hang around for long unless the pandas are doing something incredibly adorable, so if it’s busy I always just hang around a bit longer and usually get a good spot to view at the windows.
The cubs I saw on this 2017 visit to the Base have by far been the most active I’ve seen on any of my trips! They were all over the place on the platforms, down the slopes of the enclosures, and did a good job at climbing trees^ So here’s a LOT of pictures of baby pandas, some of which are pretty out of focus, they move unexpectedly fast and my camera skills weren’t so good back then, haha! This trip was also the first time I’d seen cubs in the inside of the nurseries, there were just two in the wooden ‘crib’, and this had the longest queue of the day. But staff kept it moving quickly and ensured everyone got a look, and also kept everyone quiet which is certainly a challenge with the number of people wanting to see the littlest pandas. I have a few cute videos of the cubs from this trip as well, so maybe at some point I will put all the clips together to share.
This was an interesting experience to watch, that I really stumbled upon by chance – the keeper is doing some enrichment and training with the panda. The keeper had a long pole and attached various treats to the end on a rope (apple, panda cake etc.) and encouraged the panda to stand and balance to get the treat. This is something which will be particularly important in male pandas to work on strengthening their hind limbs which is needed for natural mating. This is the only time I’ve seen it, so maybe I just got lucky – but it was a little later in the afternoon, perhaps around 2PM and in one of the Adult/Sub-Adult enclosures closest to the lake if you’re trying to find it.
