Giant Panda expedition in the Qin Ling Mountains
Trip report - 6 March to 19 March 2011
Click to read the 2011 Panda Trip Report, or see below for the 2010 scouting trip.
Trip report - 22 February to 5 March 2010
Every bear aficionado like me dreams of seeing a wild giant panda. As part of my goal to see all eight bears species of the world, I decided it was time to give it a try. But with who and where? Reading the various trip reports illustrated how tough this might be, with many coming up empty handed or finishing the trip with a visit to Wolong to see captive or semi-captive pandas. That was not for me, I wanted to see wild pandas being bears, the way people see grizzly bears at my lodge in British Columbia. Foping Nature Reserve kept coming up as the place to see pandas in the wild. Eventually I was put in contact with Zoe at Wild Giant Panda, and before I knew it we were boarding a plane in Vancouver for China. What follows is my experience spending 12 days in the Qin Ling Mountains with these fine folks.
Getting to Xi’an China was a breeze, we easily navigated Beijing airport, with no Mandarin skills, to change planes. We were met by Zoe and Bill at the Xi’an airport and taken to the Grand New World Hotel. It is a very comfortable hotel (4+ stars).
Day 1
The next morning we (Mark and myself, along with Phil who we had just met) were met by our guides, Rolf and Better, and along with a driver we headed off to Foping Nature Reserve. It is a long five hour drive with the first third going through intensive agriculture and urban areas. But eventually we headed up into the mountains and birds began to appear. We noted our old friend black-billed magpies (Pica pica), plus green sandpipers, a lovely look at a crested kingfisher as well as brown breasted and light-vented bulbuls and a mountain hawk eagle on the drive to the trail head.
The hike to our destination, called the “Protection Station”, was 8km downhill along a concrete pathway. It was a relatively easy hike in with just our day packs, as our luggage and supplies were traveling in by pony. Much of the path is flat until it comes along side a canyon near the sta- tion. The higher elevation portions by the trail head were snow covered and slippery both on the way in and twelve days later on the way out.
Along the path we added many more birds to our list: Eurasian nuthatch, durian redstart, dusky thrush, large-billed crow, Eurasian Jay, red-billed blue magpie, willow tit, marsh tit, sooty tit, black- throated tit, great spotted woodpecker, and green-backed tit. Of course, all the time we were look- ing at the bamboo stands, wondering where we might find our first panda, after all scat was often found along the trail side.
We arrived by late afternoon. One of the guides showed us to our room in the new building. Quite a structure when you consider it was 5 years in the making, all be transported in on the backs of a few tired ponies.
The rooms were nice and comfortable with one exception, currently the building lacks heat. (It will be added in the future.) So, many mornings we were greeted with a room temperature of 5 degrees Celsius. Though it does have electric blankets which pre-warm your bed for a delightful crawl in between the sheets. Generally it was quite comfortable to sleep with the electric blan- kets. Each room has bathroom with a western-style flush toilet and sink. The showers currently just consist of a bag shower (sun shower for those of you who have camped before), to be filled with heated water and tied over your head. It is a workable solution for a shower, aside from the very cold rooms. Of course, if one was to arrive in May or later the room temperature would be fine. There is electricity in the rooms from a small hydro-electric plant at the station, unfortunately the voltage is unregulated so to charge your various gadgets you needed to take them to the sta- tion manager who has a power regulator or risk toasting your gadgets.
Soon it was dinner time, which was a great social immersion into the local culture and cuisine. Very healthy fare: rice or noodles with a variety of stir-fried vegetable dishes. This would be alternated with various homemade soups and steamed bread. It was delicious, moderately spicy like Thai, with very little meat, occasionally tofu. The best part was a homemade chili paste, that was full of smoky flavour and not unreasonably hot (it was worth the trip alone!). All meals came from large woks over a wood fire. If you are a meat and potatoes kind of person or have a sugar addiction (I may have lost mine there!) you might find it a bit light. But the amount was ample and it would give you the stamina to get up the hills after the pandas. Of course, there was beer to wash it all down with.
Day 2
After a warm breakfast that looked similar to last night’s dinner, we head out at 0830 to resolutely search for pandas. The trackers left ahead of us and we moved to a staging area near where they were searching for pandas. It was a pattern we would practice for the next 10 days. At around 1030 we received a radio call, a panda had been spotted. Now we learned the second part of the pattern, Rolf would say “Panda, Run, quickly follow Mr. He!”. So off we went up a moderately steep ridge line through a bamboo and hardwood forest. After about 10 minutes Mr. He and Rolf stopped and pointed to the opposite side of the valley about 100 m distant. It was covered in dense bamboo, but the bamboo was occasionally moving! Eventually we caught fleeting glimpses of “parts” of a panda. When one of the trackers got too close, the panda walked over the oppo- site ridge line giving us brief but good views. Two hours out and we had seen our first wild giant panda! The hike up the ridge was moderately steep but was relatively quick. Little did we know it would be one of our easier mammal sightings!
With a great sense of accomplishment we returned to our staging area for lunch. Most of the trackers ate readi-heat meals, that were ingeniously heated above a bath of salt water and cal- cium oxide with the resulting exothermic reaction boiling the solution. We tended to opt for lighter fare considering the hills might have to quickly climb, remembering the old adage from Rikki Tikki Tavi that “a full mongoose is a slow mongoose”.
Soon the trackers were on their way again and we were left to do some birding while waiting for the next radio call. Through out the day we were able to find the following new species: white- crowned forktail, chestnut thrush, brown dipper, streak-breasted scimitar babbler, Elliot’s laugh- ingthrush, and our second mammal species of the day, a Pearny’s long-nosed squirrel.
After an hour or so, another call came over the radio. You guessed it: “Panda, Run”. So off we went chasing after Rolf and Mr. He up the mountains through the bamboo. It was a much steeper and longer climb with us “slow mongooses” arriving panting and sweating, maybe twenty minutes later to the top of a mountain ridge. Though I must admit this is a subjective time estimate! We were told there is a panda somewhere in the wooded basin below us, maybe two. So we catch our breath as the trackers discuss something in Mandarin and congratulate us on being able to get to this ridge line. After about 10 minutes someone spots her, a panda perched up in the top of a hardwood tree about 100 m down the hill, in front of us. We are told it is a female and to avoid an amorous male, she climbed a tree as they often do during the breeding season. Now we had a panda sighting we could savor as we watched her for 15 minutes or more. Hundreds of photo- graphs were taken as we collected our panda trophies! Two pandas in the first full day of search- ing, quite a happy crew that night.
Day 3
Eagerly out on the trail for pandas at 0830, we covered much more ground today. However, the pandas were more elusive but as the day wore on we found the following new species: rufous- bellied woodpecker, grey-capped pygmy woodpecker, golden pheasant, and green shrike bab- bler. Then as the afternoon wore to a close and the group split in two, my group got lucky one more time. Hiking along a trail through a bamboo thicket we heard the sound of bamboo snap- ping and being crunched, very close! I heard a distinct “chuff”, (the description of the noise as a bear exhales forcefully when disturbed), similar to what I’ve heard from grizzlies and American black bears. We dropped to our hands and knees so to be able to see through the bamboo under the leaves. There we found our third panda in two days! We were able to watch it briefly as it grazed on bamboo sitting on its hindquarters.
Day 4
After our good luck with pandas we decided to focus on other mammal species for a while. To- day’s choice was golden snub-nosed monkeys. We had been warned that the monkeys are quite shy and tend to stick to the upper slopes. But we were on a roll after our luck with pandas, so off we went at 0830. By 1030 we had worked our way up behind the trackers to one of the higher ridge tops and there our good luck continued with good views of golden snub-nosed monkeys at a range of 150m or so. Being from Canada it was quite a treat to see monkeys foraging around in the tops of a temperate forest. Up on that ridge it was also interesting to see claw marks where Asiatic black bears had climbed beech trees just as their American counterparts do. We tried another area after lunch but had no luck with mammals though we did pick up three new birds: mountain bulbul, yellow-bellied tit and a flock of bramblings on the ridge top. It was another great day of hard climbing up long ridges through some gorgeous country.
Day 5
With pandas and monkeys under our belt, the trackers decided to focus on finding us a takin. Of course this is another species we were told that likes to frequent the high ridges. I wish I could say we were getting used to it by now that was still days away. So up another very beautiful valley we went and at least this one was surprisingly bamboo free, only isolated stands of arrow bamboo. The trackers reported one brief takin sighting but it quickly moved away. Eventually we reached a high knife-edged ridge line where we were treated to a great view of the surrounding mountains as we ate lunch. Mark’s patient scanning of the neighboring hillslides gave us our daily new mammal species, a pair of Chinese serows that were bedded down looking very much like a brown rock. While watching those two another pair ran down a closer slope and gave us a better though very brief view. Arriving back at the station we picked up a new bird, yellow- browed bunting, in the adjacent field. Another great day in the mountains!
Day 6
Today we opted to look for pandas in a new area. Though we saw various panda sign, pandas eluded us. But the radio brought news of a good alternate, golden snub-nosed monkeys! Of course they were high up a ridge line! There we saw a bachelor group of 5 handsome males and had our best view of the monkeys yet.
On the return trip down the very steep ridge line I careened, literally, into a panda mark tree. It looked very similar to the grizzly mark trees back home, covered in mud from a wallow and adorned with panda hair. Of course, the whole day wasn’t spent chasing up mountains after monkeys, we added some new bird species to our list: rufous-capped babbler, orange-flanked bush robin, greater necklaced laughingthrush, grey-cheeked fulvetta, vinous-throated parrotbill, and spectacled parrotbill.
Day 7
Today our goal was to find a flying squirrel nearly a meter long! By recent day’s standards to- day’s hike was less step but longer. The trackers didn’t let us down as they showed us several red and white giant flying squirrels! A truly spectacular mammal, especially in flight!
On a late afternoon hike near the station we found a wild boar. Throughout the day we added more new bird species: barred laughingthrush, common pheasant, white-throated laughingth- rush, white-capped water redstart, oriental turtle dove, and a speckled piculet seen right out the back window of the break room at the station.
Day 8
Today pre-coffee (it’s only instant anyway), we were called out to the village downstream from the station. Two Chinese gorals were up on a cliff behind the station. This was much easier than chasing up a ridge top for them! The rest of the day we spent looking for pandas and takin in yet another new area. The pandas once again eluded us though we did not see as much sign in this area as the previous areas. However our luck improved with the takin as we had a great look, though brief, at one. Not to ignore the birds we added collared finchbills, great tits, and common teal to our list.
Day 9
Today we returned to the area where we first saw pandas. Though the trackers located two they had vanished as pandas are apt to do before we could get there. But still we found some new species to add to our list: snowy-cheeked laughingthrush, golden-breasted fulvetta and I believe a Chinese dormouse. It was a brief sighting of the dormouse as it darted beneath the concrete trail.
Day 10
Around about 0400, Mark reported something was barking, kind of dog-like in the station com- pound but was unable to see anything out the window. Then on our daily ritual of going to look for the nearby rumored eagle owls, he spotted panda tracks in the new snow. The panda had walked right through the middle of camp! They were coming to us now! So after breakfast we headed out after pandas. The new snow, our first of the trip, changed the whole game signifi- cantly. Now the bamboo tilting under the weight of the snow blocked even the concrete pathway down to waist height. The smaller trails on the hillsides and become nearly rabbit warrens. Soon the first radio call took us to one end of a long ridge where we learned that actually the panda was traveling towards the other end of the ridge line. Off we went through the bamboo doing a traverse along the hillside. This was a major slog, often I found myself on my hands and knees going through the snow and bamboo unable to see where Mark and Mr. He had gone up front.
I was just beagling along though cursing instead of baying. After an immeasurable amount of time, I arrived on the ridge line to find Mark and Mr. He. Mark says that perhaps he’s done chas- ing pandas, still catching my breath I nod in agreement. Mr. He points up the ridge and gestures that a panda will be coming along. We are doubtful. Then maybe five minutes later, sure enough here comes a panda through the snow covered forest towards us.
Now we are bear viewing! It steps out into a clearing maybe 20 meters away and pauses unaware of our presence. Our discomfort from the wet, cold and exhaustion is long forgotten. My camera clicks away carefully, more like a sniper than the usual machine gun style modern digital photography. Slowly the bear turns and walks up the trail towards us, eventually stopping about 9 meters away where with a long stare it suddenly realized we were there. It then slowly turned and walked calmly away down the hillside. Yes, clearly all the struggling up the mountains was all worth it....
All this was prior to lunch, for which we retreated to the station so everyone could dry out and warm up a bit. Later in the afternoon Mark and I decided to check out a nearby site where one of the trackers had spotted a takin the day before. Our good luck continued now as we spent at least 30 minutes with a takin that was out in the open and generally unaware of our presence. As you can see below they are a unique looking animal related to the musk oxen. Not forgetting birds we added another species to the list: grey-headed bullfinch.
Patience had paid off for us, rewarding us with close extended views of both pandas and takin. Our trackers and guides had done very well. But we still had one more full day to go plus a half day to walk out! We went to sleep that night very satisfied.
Day 11
Today our trackers took us to an area along the concrete path to look for more pandas. With the new snow from yesterday there were lots of fresh panda tracks including one which was scent marking various trees along the trail. It left a scent that was reminiscent of licorice, or perhaps the regular flavored Fisherman’s FriendsTM. Perhaps our panda karma had expired as we could not locate any today.
In the late afternoon we returned to the village to watch a hillside where tufted deer had been re- ported to come out and forage every afternoon recently. But it seems the village dogs saw them before we did! But not to worry we did manage to find new species of birds: northern goshawk, rusty-capped fulvetta, and blue-fronted redstart. Later that evening we learned that Rolf and Phil who left the reserve early that morning had a close encounter with a panda along the path near where we had been looking today.
Day 12
Before breakfast we left the station to walk the 8 km to the trail head where Rolf and Phil would be meeting us with the van. The first 6 km were pleasant as we walked along the untracked light snow on the trail, looking for mammal tracks. Golden pheasants scurried across the trail at one point. We heard a wild boar in the brush and even added one more mammal to our list when we spotted a Pallas’ squirrel near the path. By the last 2 km the elevation gain put us into 4-6” of snow and slowly we remembered how the trail started as a nice downhill on the way it, but now as an uphill grew tiresome. But then as always there were new species of birds to see as we added spotted nutcracker, giant laughingthrush, spectacled fulvetta, streaked-throated fulvetta, and a vinaceous rosefinch were added to our list. The van was a welcome sight as we piled in for the 5 hour drive to back to Xi’an. Along the way we added common kestrel to our list and spotted but never quite identified conclusively an eagle of one of the Aquila species.
The warm showers at our hotel in Xi’an were a welcome sensation and our night in town gave us a great opportunity to reflect upon the amazing journey with a great organization that we had just completed. The trackers found most of the species of mammals we were looking for and we always seemed to be bumping into new bird species. It is not an easy place to visit, particularly in February but it is a very rewarding trip into an area with a fairly high density of pandas. Get yourself in shape for this trip so you’ll will be able to get much more out of this special trip and practice by spending a lot of time scrambling up the steepest wooded hills (off-trail) you can find near home. If you don’t have hills, flights of stairs or a stairmaster will do.
Our new friends: the excellent trackers and guides of Wild Giant Panda.
I loved the numerous suspension bridges scattered throughout the area.
Click to see the 2011 panda trip report or the itinerary for the upcoming March 2012 expedition.