Giant Panda National Park prepares guidebook

The Giant Panda National Park in China is renowned for its rich biodiversity, housing over 8,000 species of wildlife. Despite this abundance, there remains a need for a comprehensive reference book on the park.

An official from the park’s Sichuan management bureau said the information about the park's animals and plants largely relies on oral communication, emphasizing the need for clear written accounts. There is also a significant number of rare and endangered species in the park that lack high-quality image materials.

To bridge this gap, relevant parties have initiated the creation of a comprehensive natural guidebook for the Giant Panda National Park.

This photo taken on Oct. 8, 2023 shows giant panda Xiang Xiang at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base in Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

"Extensive preliminary collection work has been carried out since last year," said Feng Jie, the co-author of the guidebook and director of the panda and forest conservation project at the Shan Shui Conservation Center, an ecological environment organization.

The plan states the guidebook will focus on the Sichuan region of the Giant Panda National Park and encompass a wide range of species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and plants.

Creating a comprehensive and practical guidebook is a challenging task. According to Feng, one of the difficulties lies in selecting which species to include from the over 8,000 species of wildlife in the park. Another challenge is obtaining high-quality images for the guidebook.

A staff member on the panda and forest conservation project of the Shan Shui Conservation Center said over 1,000 species of wildlife will be included in the guidebook.

In October 2023, a joint patrol team from Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces embarked on a four-day journey from the Tangjiahe area of the Giant Panda National Park in Sichuan Province. They covered a total distance of 134 kilometers on foot, with one important task being to take pictures of the encountered wildlife, especially those species included in the guidebook.

"The photos captured by infrared cameras often fall short of the printing requirements, prompting us to prioritize the preservation of visual data during daily patrols," explained Wang Shuli, with the Shan Shui Conservation Center.

According to Wang, the joint patrol confirmed the presence or traces of 28 rare animals, including wild giant pandas and Sichuan takins.

The Sichuan management bureau of the Giant Panda National Park plans to collect photos from the wider society.

"We do not only involve patrol officers and the general public but also engage the entire society through activities like nature education and scientific volunteering, fostering collective participation in creating this guidebook," said an official at the Sichuan management bureau.

The final guidebook will feature an alphabetical arrangement of over 1,000 species in Chinese, creating a user-friendly format similar to a dictionary. Each species will be accompanied by a description of around 200 words, along with one to three photographs showcasing the appearance and distinctive features of each species.

"The guidebook will not only provide information on the most representative flora and fauna resources of the Giant Panda National Park but will also promote public recognition and observation, enabling a greater understanding of the park's biodiversity," said Lyu Zhi, a professor at Peking University and founder of the Shan Shui Conservation Center.

"We plan to complete typesetting and printing in the second half of next year, and hope to release the guidebook to the public by the end of 2024," Feng stated.