Panda Suits Donned By Zoo Workers As They Transport Bears To New Location (PICTURES)
Panda Performance: Workers Don Bear Suits To Transport Cub
Sara C Nelson— Huffington Post UK
Chinese zoo workers donned panda suits as they transported a cub and his mother to a new location at the Wolong National Nature Reserve.
Panda cub Tao Tao and his mother Cao Cao were taken in crates to the spot for the third and final stage of their training before they are released into the wild.
The mother and son were coaxed out into the open with fresh bamboo shoots by the bear suit-clad researchers, China Daily reports.
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Tao Tao and Cao Cao venture out after their journey
The outfits are worn to ensure the bears are exposed to as little human interference as possible during the process.
The project to train captive pandas to live independently began in 2003 and sees the bears gradually introduced to other and animals they are likely to meet in the wild, including snow leopards.
A spokesman said: "Tao Tao only knows his mother. To let him know other animals, we will send other pandas to the area, as well as model snow leopards and snow leopards, which can produce the sound of the genuine snow leopard and leopard, so that he will be afraid of his natural enemies."
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Pictures Of The Day: 4 May 2012
(01 of09)
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A coin featuring the Roman God Vulcan from the "Stronger" set of coins from The Royal Mint's London 2012 Gold Series commemorative coin range, which is a set of nine coins crafted in 22 carat gold and are inspired by the Olympic motto Faster, Higher, Stronger. The Stronger set is the third and last in the series to launch and features Roman Gods Mars - god of war, Vulcan - god of Fire and Minerva, goddess of war. They are the only UK coins from The Royal Mint's London 2012 Commemorative Coin range to feature the iconic Olympic rings. Photo credit should read: David Parry/PA Wire
(02 of09)
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(03 of09)
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Detail of designs for a test section of a pixellated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, made out of cakes, at Konditor and Cook, in the City of London.The finished portrait made up of 3,120 cakes, one for each week of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, will be displayed in Battersea Park, London, on June 3, 2012, at the Diamond Jubilee festival. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
(04 of09)
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Tommy Lee Jones, a cast member in the upcoming film "Men in Black 3," points a prop gun at photographers before dropping it into a time capsule from the film, during a photo call in Beverly Hills, Calif.Cast members and the film's director Barry Sonnenfeld dropped props, costume pieces and memorabilia from the film franchise into the time capsule, which will travel across the country before being locked away in a NASA storage facility for 43 years. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
(05 of09)
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Tunnock the three week old Meerkat fits inside a tea cup after being weighed by keeper Anna Keen at Blair Drummond Safari Park using her favourite biscuit as balancing weights. Tunnock weighed the same weight as four Tunnock tea cakes(96g). He is one of four Meerkats born recently, with the other ones being triplets. Photo credit should read: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
(06 of09)
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Yves Rossy, known as the Jetman, jumps from a helicopter over Rio de Janiero, Brazil, The Swiss aviator dropped from the helicopter and deployed the Jet powered carbon-kevlar Jetwing, which he uses his body to steer, as he flew over the city before landing on Copacabana beach. (AP Photo/Joe Parker, Breitling)
(07 of09)
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Current Mayor of London Boris Johnson poses for photographs with his wife Marina Johnson after casting his vote in the election for the next Mayor of London on May 3, 2012 in London, England. Recent opinion polls place the incumbent Mayor of London Mr Johnson ahead of his nearest challenger, the former Mayor Ken Livingstone, in his bid to secure a second term in office. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
(08 of09)
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Joost Luiten of The Netherlands plays a shot during the first round of the Open de Espana at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla on May 3, 2012 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
(09 of09)
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A cockchafer or may bug is pictured on a blossom in Hanover, Germany, May bugs feed on leaves of various broad-leafed trees, particularly oaks. The bugs fly around between the end of April and the middle of June. Photo: HOLGER HOLLEMANN