Returning pandas to the wild requires long term adaptation and training. The China Panda Valley in Chengdu is the newest transitional training area, providing a safe environment for the endangered bears to develop their survival skills.

This Panda Valley is located deep in the mountains of southwest China's Sichuan Province, full of pandas' favorite food, bamboo. The 6 giant pandas have been released here, but they're not on their own yet. They need to develop several survival skills before being released into the wild.

Giant panda specialist Dr. Qi Dunwu said, "If the captive-bred pandas are not taking the wilderness adaptation training, they will not able to find food by themselves, they will have difficulties finding shelter by their own, and most importantly, the captive-bred pandas are fully reliant on humans. To leave for the wild, without years of wildness training, they will not able to survive."

These half dozen bears, Xingrong, Xiongya, Gongzai, Zhizhi, Qiqi and Yingying will stay in the China Panda Valley for years. It's not just about developing a stronger wild panda population, but protecting those already in captivity.

Giant panda specialist Zhang Zhihe said, "The ultimate goal for captive-bred panda is to return them to the wild some day, so the wildness training is very important and also requires a similar wild environment to let the pandas live in the wild, but at the same time, we can train them to survive. Another thing is that, the captive-bred pandas are living in a very concentrated area, to some extent; this is threatening the safety of all the pandas in captivity."

Sixty years ago, a local villager discovered the first wild panda in Dujiangyan area. The ultimate goal of moving these pandas back into the wild, is to stop the giant panda from becoming extinct. Thanks to the China Panda valley, the chances are fewer and fewer.

Specialists said that the wilderness adaptation training is only a transitional phase of the program as a whole, and that it might take years to complete. With luck, the 6 pandas will rise to the challenge, and ultimately be able to live on their own in the wild.

(CNTV.cn January 11, 2012)