Vanessa's Journal

Jan. 3

Today was one of those days where you feel like you are in a movie or someone else’s life.  To start out, I thought I missed the bus to get to the Panda Breeding Center (where the Ecology Lab is) but after walking for about 15 minutes, the bus thankfully caught up to me and I got on to make a 9 a.m. meeting with the Ecology Lab colleagues.   Interestingly, during my walk I happened to stumble upon someone’s wedding.  A few of my local friends were there and they all said “why are you walking, the bus is right behind you?” Nothing like a little morning exercise. 

I had a lengthy meeting with the director of the Ecology lab, Jinyan Huang, who had some very helpful suggestions.  He indicated specific locations where he would suggest putting more traps at Wuyipeng and agreed that we should build some wooden traps while waiting for the metal ones to arrive from the nearest city. He suggested an additional eight traps, so we definitely will have our hands full.

People have been reflecting on what the 1980s panda trapping team did at Wuyipeng. It seems that they had almost 20 traps and 30 people! The more I learn about panda trapping, the more humbling the experience becomes.  When I talked to one of the higher ups in the reserve last week, he said that he worked on panda trapping for two years and only caught two pandas.  Humble pie indeed.

I then hiked up to Wuyipeng again. I had a nice lunch with my field assistants and we strategized on our next steps. They all seem so optimistic so I am trying to feed off of their positive energy. Interestingly, they seem to be on the same page as Jinyan Huang with their ideas on the next steps.  It’s good to feel like everyone has a consensus.