8th Annual Hug My Cub Event

/ Post by Suzanne Braden of Pandas International

Hug My Cub is an annual gathering for individuals who have adopted Pandas through the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) at both the Wolong and Bifengxia Panda Centers.

Each year, for about a week, individuals volunteer during the day assisting Panda caretakers with their daily routines – cleaning enclosures, transporting bamboo, preparing food, and feeding the Pandas their special panda bread.  The Pandas love the panda bread which is made from a dough of ground bamboo, grains, vitamins, and molasses.  Panda bread and carrots are the Pandas’ treats for the day.

This year, the volunteers had a couple of other great opportunities.  First, they planted bamboo on the grounds of the Bifengxia Panda Center.  Second, the group was able to tour the recently opened Center for Disease Control outside of Dujianyan. This center was established to care for aging or disabled pandas and serve as a quarantine facility if needed.

There are currently three Pandas in residence at the CDC center. Two of the Pandas are disabled – one is missing one hind leg and the other both hind legs.  The third is the aging panda Pan Pan.  Pan Pan is the father, grandfather, and great grandfather of many captive born pandas, so for the group to see him was a real treat.

 While spending your day helping to care for and observing Pandas makes for a very special occasion, the highlight for most participants was likely getting their photo taken with a Panda.  To see the entire gallery of Hug My Panda images, visit the Pandas International Facebook Gallery.