Long Long is getting better
An injured wild giant panda is in good health with the intensive care by specialists in southwest China’s Sichuan Province after recovery for more than two months.
The sick wild giant panda , Long Long, was found in the Hongkou National Nature Reserve in Longxi County of Sichuan on April 17. The giant panda first refused to take any food or water for six days and nights after it had been brought back to the research base in Chengdu.
Long Long was diagnosed with severe pancreatitis and myocarditis, and was suffered from parasites disease. The medical staffs conducted 24-hour treatment of the panda, offering it water, vitamins, nutrient and medicine. With the intensive care of more than two months, Long Long gained 18 kilograms, weighing 82 kilograms on early July and regained its appetite.
Yang Zhi, deputy director of the veterinary hospital of the base, said that Long Long’s physical condition is close to normal. When Yang was giving an interview near the cage, Long Long suddenly stretched its arm, trying to reach Yang with its paw. “It means Long Long wants something to eat. When it was just rescued, it refused to eat, but now it is asking for food from us,” Yang explained.
Rather than staying at the corner of the cage, Long Long moves around a lot after it regains its weight. The specialists plan to arrange outdoor activities for it later and send it back to the panda group when it is fully recovered.
As Long Long is getting better, its wild nature also comes back. Its eating and living behaviors are different from the giant pandas in captivity. Like other wild giant pandas, Long Long started to build lair and mark its territory.
“Look at the corner. Long Long eats bamboo and builds a lair here because it’s safe. It sleeps here at night and puts the bamboo under it. It bites the bed we offered it and pulls the wood fragments into its lair. This is the typical living behavior in the wild, which means Long Long is restoring its wild nature,” said Yang.
Source: CCTV
