Giant Panda in the Wild

Other than local tribesmen, very few people have had the chance to walk in the reserve of the giant panda. Actually - climb and scramble would be more apt than 'walk'. My wife, Birgit, and I were privileged to visit the land of the wild panda in wintertime. We were surprised to find that it looked like the more rugged parts of British Columbia, with rocky crags, waterfalls and giant old growth forests, including pines and hemlock. The light dusting of snow on the ground gave the landscape a very Canadian feeling, except for the groves of 10-20 foot high bamboo. The old growth forests are also absolutely essential to the way of life of the panda.

Old hollow trees are needed for denning sites, and tall trees are needed so that pandas can see each other from long distances during breeding season. Almost unique among mammals, pandas have a very visually striking coat. One theory is that since their bamboo diet is so nutritionally poor, they need large territories and must avoid each other. This is fine until the time of year for mating. Then there must, obviously, be a get-together. The females climbs a tall, conspicuous tree, and utters her 'come-hither' calls. One of the reasons that panda populations are endangered is their low breeding potential. The second is the destruction of their habitat.

This is why I chose this subject as a retirement gift presented to Charles de Haes, who was the Director General of World Wildlife Fund International. The painting is symbolic in that it is the habitat, not the panda, which is the central focus, for only by preserving the habitat have we any chance of preserving the panda.