First captive panda released in wild is killed

The first panda to be released into the wild after being bred in captivity has been found dead in forests in southwest China.

Xiang Xiang was found in February on snow-covered ground in the forests of Sichuan province in China’s southwest, the Xinhua News Agency said.

It is believed he suffered fatal injuries after he fell from a tree while being chased by other pandas. He had undergone three years of training on how to survive in the wild but he lasted less than a year.



“Xiang Xiang died of serious internal injuries in the left side of his chest and stomach by falling from a high place,” Heng Yi, an official from the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in Sichuan, said in a telephone interview.

“The scratches and other minor injuries caused by other wild pandas were found on his body,” he said.

“So Xiang Xiang may have fallen from trees when being chased by those pandas.”