| Wolong National Nature Reserve | |
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| Wolong Special Administrative Region | |
 Giant panda cub at the Panda Breeding Centre of Wolong National Nature Reserve | |
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| Location | Wenchuan County,Sichuan |
| Nearest city | Chengdu |
| Coordinates | 31°01′N103°06′E / 31.02°N 103.10°E /31.02; 103.10[1] |
| Area | c. 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) |
| Established | 1963 |
| wolongpanda.com.cn | |
| Wolong National Nature Reserve | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 卧龙国家级自然保护区 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 臥龍國家級自然保護區 | ||||||
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| Wolong Special Administrative Region | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 四川省汶川卧龙特别行政区 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 四川省汶川臥龍特別行政區 | ||||||
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Wolong National Nature Reserve (from Chinese卧龙;wòlóng; 'crouching dragon'), officially known asWolong Special Administrative Region, is a nationalprotected area inWenchuan County inChina. It was established in 1963 with an initial size of about 20,000 ha (49,000 acres). It was expanded in 1975 to an area of about 200,000 ha (490,000 acres) in theQionglai Mountains region. It hosts over 4,000 species.[2] In 2006, it became aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[3]
According to China's Third National Giant Panda Survey, about 150 wildgiant pandas live in Wolong National Nature Reserve. The reserve is also a home to many other endangered species including thesnow leopard,red panda,golden snub-nosed monkey andwhite-lipped deer. Before the devastating2008 Sichuan earthquake, Wolong received up to 200,000 visitors every year.[4][5]
The reserve became part of theGiant Panda National Park in 2020.[citation needed]
In June 1980, the Chinese government started its cooperation with theWorld Wide Fund for Nature, and the "China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda" (CCRCGP) was established to ensure a future for the giant pandas. The aim was to increase the number of pandas in captive-breeding programs, however with the ultimate goal to return a larger number of pandas to their original, natural habitats. When the cooperation started giant pandas were still listed as an endangered species by theIUCN.[6]In 2016, the IUCN reclassified the giant panda from being "endangered" to the new classification "vulnerable", affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda.[7]
A mountain stream runs through the Wolong Valley (where the reserve is); the stream is heavily armoured with boulders and smaller rounded stones. Stream waters are ratheralkaline withpH levels in the range of 8.91. (Hogan, 2007)Water qualityturbidity is quite high due to extensive sand andgravel mining in stream.[8]
According to a 2001 research, the rate of destruction is higher after the reserve's creation than before its creation due to the increase of tourism.[9]
The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda engages in global cooperations with 16 zoos in 14 countries, providing the world's largest platform for the scientific research regarding the giant pandas. By 2019 a total of 19 other pandas have been returned to China.[10]
Giant pandas from Wolong have been loaned to zoos all over the world to ensure breeding success.Bai Yun, who was the first female panda born at the Nature Reserve in 1991, was the first panda to be loaned to a zoo outside of China. From 1996 until 2019 she lived at theSan Diego Zoo inCalifornia, where she gave birth to six cubs. When the conservation loan ended, 27-year-old Bai Yun was returned to China together with her last-born old son,Xiao Liwu.[citation needed]
The giant panda is the most famous species of the reserve. Other typical larger Carnivora are theUssuri dhole,Asian black bear,Asiatic golden cat,clouded leopard,red panda,hog badger andyellow-throated marten. Hooved mammals are represented bySichuan takins,wild boar,musk deer,mainland serows,Chinese gorals,tufted deer andsambar deer. Other noticeable mammals includegolden snub-nosed monkeys,Tibetan macaques,complex-toothed flying squirrels,bamboo rats, andporcupines.[11] Because the reserve comprises different altitudes, it includes tropical and temperate climate zones and harbors species typically for the tropics, like sambar deer as well as species from temperate regions, likewhite-lipped deer,snow leopards andTurkestan lynxes.[12]Camera-trap surveys conducted in the reserve area between 2005 and 2009 did not record anyleopard.[13] In 2018, a leopard was photographed by a camera trap at an elevation of 4,080 m (13,390 ft). The same camera, installed in 2017, also captured images of snow leopards seven times.[14]
The region, including the Panda Research Center, was largely devastated by the catastrophic May 12,2008 Sichuan earthquake, though the captive giant pandas were initially reported to be safe.[15][16] Immediately after the quake, officials were unable to contact the reserve.[17] Five security guards at the reserve were killed by the earthquake.[18] Six pandas escaped after their enclosures were damaged. By May 20, two pandas at the reserve were found to be injured, while the search continued for another two adult pandas that went missing after the quake.[19] On May 28, 2008, nine-year-old Mao Mao (mother of five) was still missing.[20] On Monday, June 9, she was found dead as a result of being crushed by a wall in her enclosure.[21]
The giant pandas were relocated to theBifengxia Panda Base, which is also managed by the China Panda Protection and Research Center.[22] Starting in 2012, they were relocated to the new Shenshuping Panda Center.[22]
