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Pan Wenshi Zoologist in Giant Panda |
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| Director of the Giant Panda and Wildlife Conservation
Research Center at Peking University, Pan Wenshi get achievements on
behalf of panda conservation over a career spanning nearly 40 years and
for his most recent efforts to convince the Chinese government to impose a
logging moratorium in the Changqing area of the northern Qinling
mountains, an important panda habitat. Prof. Pan first proved that in contrast to captive pandas, pandas in the wild reproduce at a relatively high rate comparable to that of the American black bear. One of biggest threats to the panda today remains habitat loss from logging and other economic activities. Professor Pan bought the public attention to the area of Changqing and played a very important role in the establishment of the Changqing Nature Reserve. Pan's argument that bamboo flowering and dying was not a determining factor in relation to the pandas' survival was later confirmed by field observations. Meanwhile, Pan had found life's work--helping pandas survive in the wild. Researchers previously thought that a dominant male won breeding rights, but females in Pan's study group have mated with four or more males in a season. While pandas have proved notoriously hard to breed in captivity. Pan has corroborated that they can reproduce well in the wild. DNA tests on pandas in the wild have revealed a good genetic diversity. |
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