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Scan the section Saving Pandas in the Wild, and identify the…

Scan the section Saving Pandas in the Wild, and identify the purpose for “creating ‘corridors’ of forests.” Saving Pandas in the Wild 8  Under the terms of the Zoo’s agreement with China, scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Conservation Ecology Center have studied these bears both in the wild and in human care. 9  Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ecologists spend months in China every year studying wild pandas and their neighbors, such as Asiatic black bears and takin. They teach colleagues in China how to conduct censuses and surveys of large mammals, including giant pandas that live in the wild, using geographic information systems (GIS) and other high-tech tools for tracking wildlife. 10  They are also working to identify new landscapes for giant panda reintroduction. Field research has revealed that wild pandas’ habitat is highly fragmented, which means pandas have a difficult time finding a mate. To address that problem, Zoo scientists and colleagues have been exploring the possibility of creating “corridors” of forests that link isolated habitats. Such corridors would give giant pandas more options for movement and mate selection. They might also assist with the reintroduction of captive-born pandas into the wild. 11  The Zoo’s pandas are part of Panda Watch behavior study. Each day, dedicated Friends of the National Zoo volunteers, called Panda Watchers, monitor the pandas’ behavior via the Panda Cam. Over the years, they’ve amassed mountains of data on the species, which is notoriously difficult to study in the wild.