Looking back with Pambassador Ashley Robertson
All Pambassadors have had an amazing time in Chengdu.
Today we will be looking back with Pambassador Ashley Robertson:
I have always had a unique fascination with Giant Pandas ever since I was a little girl. So, when I came across a global competition to be the next “Pambassador”, Panda Ambassador, I jumped at the chance. In late September of 2010, I flew to Chengdu, China to compete for the title of Pambassador at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. In the beginning there were twelve Pambassador hopefuls. We spent the first week being trained in panda care, having classes on various panda characteristics, and participated in many media interviews. After that we went into a TV game show style competition and six lucky winners were about to go on the journey of a lifetime.
Shortly after our victory, each Pambassador was paired with one of the six “Star Pandas” at the Chengdu Research Base. I was lucky enough to be paired with QiQi, a one year old panda cub who had recently celebrated her birthday. I had wanted to be paired with QiQi because I had to give a speech on her during the competition, and I felt it would only be appropriate that I spend the majority of my time taking care of her.
What an experience! I went into this competition with little expectations. I thought I might get the chance to touch a panda once, maybe feed one or two, but never did I think I would be playing with, caring for, feeding, and cleaning up after four one year old panda cubs every day for a month straight.
QiQi is so cute. She definitely lives up to her reputation. She is gentle and sweet, and very distinguishable from her fellow panda roommates with her small eye patches and tiny nose. I especially loved helping her “exercise”, which basically consisted of me trying to convince her to chase me around the enclosure at lengths at a time.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the tremendous support of the Chengdu Research Base staff. My keepers were very knowledgeable and dedicated to their work. I always felt like they cared about the pandas as much as I do, it wasn’t just a job to them, it was a calling. My translator slash photographer was so amazing as well. She was always concerned for my well being, her favorite thing to say was “take care”, while also supporting my determination to go above and beyond the minimal requirements.
I felt like I was the luckiest Pambassador. Not only did I actually get to interact with my panda, but I also got access to rare interactions between mother pandas and their newborn cubs. I was so content to be able to view an occasion so rare, that I was floored when they told us we would have the opportunity to actually hold and care for a newborn panda.
It was such a surreal moment for me. I had come to feel so comfortable in the panda nursery; I got used to the newborns’ cries and had watched them grow. I never thought I would be given the opportunity to actually hold one. We were just so happy to interact with our “Star Pandas”, we never thought we’d be allowed to hold a newborn panda.
I had gone every day without crying, which was weird because every time I saw a panda in the U.S., I cried. But this time, it was different. I went in timid and emotionally charged, fearful of making a mistake or doing something wrong. I went to pet one newborn on the head, and he let out a cry so loud and so sudden, I pulled back in terror. But all was well, and I was soon handed my very own newborn panda to help go “Poo Poo” as the Chinese say.
This was this moment that everyone back home wanted to talk about once I had returned. My family was so proud of me, my friends were so supportive, and everyone I have spoken to since is immensely impressed. How many people get to live out their life long dream at such a young age and throughout such a rare occasion? I was on top of the world. I want to give back ten fold what this experience and the pandas have given to me throughout my lifetime.
I feel that it is too soon to tell what the impact of my participation with this competition will come to mean. I only hope that it will make a difference in panda conservation, growth in the panda habitats, and a better understanding on why this creature is so pivotal to those that control its existence. I plan on returning to China quite soon to continue my work as Pambassador. I have seen the way the people of Chengdu light up at the mention of this majestic creature, and I only hope that this project will turn appreciation into action.Pambassador Ashley Robertson
