Panda Reserves

[Graduatedly]

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I was wondering if anyone knew about any of the Panda Reserves in China in regards to their research or depth of their operations. I'm trying to set up an internship in China next summer but wanted to know which reserve would be the best place to be.

Here is a list of the reserves: http://www.pandasinternational.org/reserves/reserves.html

Anyone recognize any name? I know the Wolong Reserve was devastated in the 2008 earthquake and most of the pandas were relocated to the Bifengxia Panda Base. Would that location be my best bet to gain the most experience?

Thanks guys!

 

[Minnerbelle]

I was wondering if anyone knew about any of the Panda Reserves in China in regards to their research or depth of their operations. I'm trying to set up an internship in China next summer but wanted to know which reserve would be the best place to be.

Here is a list of the reserves: http://www.pandasinternational.org/reserves/reserves.html

Anyone recognize any name? I know the Wolong Reserve was devastated in the 2008 earthquake and most of the pandas were relocated to the Bifengxia Panda Base. Would that location be my best bet to gain the most experience?

Thanks guys!

I'm not sure if it'll be different if you set up an "internship," but as far as I know, these so-called volunteer programs are more of a tourist attraction than anything else... I've known a couple of non-pre-vet people who have gone and had a blast, but I'm not sure about how much experience you'll get. (and the price is kind of steep too at airfare + ~$100/day... unless you have your own free lodging already planned). Not sure how that is looked upon by adcoms.

It would be really cool if you could intern and follow the repro scientists and veterinarians there though, and learn about conservation medicine. So if you're looking into it, it might be worthwhile to ask if that's something you can get involved in and the seasonality of their work. I would also find out beforehand what the language barrier might be unless you're a native Chinese speaker. They def have some sort of English speaker on the premises, but it may be more of a babysitter/hospitality/tour guide kind of person. I have no idea.

 

[Graduatedly]

I'm not sure if it'll be different if you set up an "internship," but as far as I know, these so-called volunteer programs are more of a tourist attraction

yeah, i saw that on some of the websites. my family has connections in china that may help me gain a bit more access into their work. do you think it'll be valuable experience if i am able to get my hands on something a little more in depth? if not, i'd would be able to take on some summer courses and continue my current volunteer work at the lab at the aquarium. what do you think?

the language barrier would be an issue. i'm chinese, but unfortunately, i hardly speak a lick of mandarin i'd be more than willing to invest in a rosetta stone if the opportunity called for it!

 

[lostbunny]

I knew someone who did a Panda thing in China- not sure what one she did though (sorry 😛). She did tons of hands on stuff with them, I think she mainly worked with the babies that were orphaned. I don't think it was a touristy thing, I think it was actually an internship thing. She's in vet school now.

I think even if its just 'animal experience' rather then shadowing a panda vet, then its definately worth it. Look at lots of them and try and scrutinize which ones are for tourists. I really wanted to do animal/vet work abroad, and I kept running into the touristy stuff. I started searching for things directly linked to universities and ended up working on 2 research teams in Oz. Definately not touristy lol. So that might be a better option to keep out of the tourist loop and to try and find stuff going on via universities.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I think even if its just 'animal experience' rather then shadowing a panda vet, then its definately worth it.

Oh most definitely! If the aim was to gain animal experience, then what better animal is there than a panda bear! Esp since pandas often give birth to twins but only take care of one and abandon the other, these places have tons of babies to bottle feed, etc... I would personally love to spend a summer cuddling baby pandas if I could!

My earlier post wasn't so much to knock animal experience, as it was to just warn the OP that at least one of these places tends to treat their foreign "volunteers" as guests more than anything else and didn't know if that's what she was going for. In terms of hands on animal contact, this place seemed to allow volunteers to have far more than any place would stateside (for obvious liability reasons).

OP, as to whether the experience is worth it or not. I think that really depends squarely on you! If you're looking to apply in the near future and this summer is the last chance for you to get everything in gear, you will have to weigh whether this unique and cool but not veterinary experience will help you out more than a summer spent improving your application otherwise. If you don't have strong a vet LOR yet, and don't have much depth or breadth of veterinary experience, and you have mediocre stats, then even dodo bird husbandry might not even get you in. If you already have all your ducks in a row, then something like this might be just the thing you need to make yourself stand out. And if connecting with family/culture is something that is important to you, then all the more reason to. Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into and have your expectations straight.

 

[lostbunny]

Oh most definitely! If the aim was to gain animal experience, then what better animal is there than a panda bear! Esp since pandas often give birth to twins but only take care of one and abandon the other, these places have tons of babies to bottle feed, etc... I would personally love to spend a summer cuddling baby pandas if I could!

My earlier post wasn't so much to knock animal experience, as it was to just warn the OP that at least one of these places tends to treat their foreign "volunteers" as guests more than anything else and didn't know if that's what she was going for. In terms of hands on animal contact, this place seemed to allow volunteers to have far more than any place would stateside (for obvious liability reasons).

Oh- yeah my post was more directed to the OP because he/she showed concern for it not being "worth it". So i just put in my point of view, not to worry it wasn't directed at anything you posted. 🙂

 

[Graduatedly]

Thanks guys - that was really helpful!

BTW,

... even dodo bird husbandry might not even get you in.

🤣

I've been having a hard time getting shadowing experience, so I probably should direct my energy towards that for the time being.

 

[LuckyChobi]

Hi 🙂

I am actually going to Bifengxia base this summer. It's more like a volunteering experience rather than an internship though. From what I heard, foreigners can't be hired without Chinese gov's special approvals. Thus, foreign scholars at the panda bases are often invited as consultants, not as researchers.

My school's extension programs have trips to the base twice a year (I believe). I paid $1000 for 12 days. I was also responsible for my flight tickets to the base. I asked my group leader why we were paying so much while we were trying to help them and she said the cost included housing, food and DONATIONS (yes, of course, for the base and Chinese gov). Also they charge ~$150 for 5 min unofficial interactions with baby pandas.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions 🙂

 

[heylodeb]

the title of this post keeps throwing me. As a military wife - the word "reserves" makes me picture drilling pandas.

alright...and with that very important addition to this thread, I'm going to go mosey on somewhere else! 😀

 

[Minnerbelle]

the title of this post keeps throwing me. As a military wife - the word "reserves" makes me picture drilling pandas.

 

[heylodeb]

👍