National Geographic -lehden kuvaaja Ami Vitale oli taannoin tutustumassa Kiinan Sichuanissa sijaitsevalla Pandojen suojelualueella. Matkan aikana nainen oli muun muassa mukana vapauttamassa vankeudessa syntyneitä pandan pentuja luontoon.

Hataopingin pandakeskuksen työntekijöiden täytyy pukeutua pandapukuihin, jotta eläimet eivät tottuisi liikaa ihmisiin. Puvut myös haisevat pandan virtsalle, sillä eläinten hajuaisti on niiden näköaistia parempi. Ami Vitalen puki suojelualueen työntekijöiden tapaan panda-asun päälleen.

National Geographic -lehden mukaan nuoret pandat elävät Hetaopingin keskuksessa noin kahden vuoden ajan. Uhanalaiset eläimet täytyy opettaa selviämään luonnossa yksin ja varomaan muita eläimiä, mukaanlukien ihmisiä.

Photo by @amivitale. A three-year labor of love is now LIVE on @natgeo and will be in the August magazine! Thanks to everyone who worked on this story and the incredible team in China who continue their work to protect these magical bears. Read the story and learn about the man behind so much progress: Papa Panda! This is a rare moment when a panda keeper in costume does a quick two-month health check on a cub at Wolong China Conservation & Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan Province, China. He first must carefully wait for the mother panda to leave while she forages for food and then quickly weighs and checks the cub. Because these pandas will be released back into the wild, the interaction with the keepers is very limited and they must wear costumes which are scented so the pandas never get used to humans. The pandas must go through a series of tests over two years to be sure they are ready to live in the wild because after just one generation in captivity, they forget the skills they need to survive in the wild. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #nikond4s #wolong #sichuan #china #climatechange #conservation #natureisspeaking #savetheplanet #photooftheday #photojournalism #panda #pandas #babypanda #ipanda #giantpanda #pandacub #amivitale #? @instagram

Kuva, jonka Ami Vitale (@amivitale) julkaisi 14. 07ta 2016 klo 10.12 PDT

Photo by @amivitale on assignment for @natgeo. Director Zhang Hemin, also known as Papa Panda, and his staff perform a health check on panda cub Hua Jiao, before they release her into a bigger enclosure in higher altitudes for the third and final stage of wild panda training at the Wolong Natural Reserve and China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. If the cub passes all the tests, she will be released into the wild. Read the @natgeo story in the August issue and online through the link in my profile. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @instagram #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #nikond4s #wolong #sichuan #china #climatechange #conservation #natureisspeaking #savetheplanet #photooftheday #photojournalism #panda #pandas #babypanda #ipanda #giantpanda #pandacub #amivitale

Kuva, jonka Ami Vitale (@amivitale) julkaisi 31. 08ta 2016 klo 15.07 PDT

Photo by @amivitale on assignment for @natgeo. Is a panda cub fooled by a panda suit? That’s the hope at Wolong’s Hetaoping center, where captive-bred bears training for life in the wild are kept relatively sheltered from human contact, even during a rare hands-on checkup. Read the @natgeo story in the August issue and online through the link in my profile. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @instagram #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #nikond4s #wolong #sichuan #china #climatechange #conservation #natureisspeaking #savetheplanet #photooftheday #photojournalism #panda #pandas #babypanda #ipanda #giantpanda #pandacub #amivitale #?

Kuva, jonka Ami Vitale (@amivitale) julkaisi 4. 08ta 2016 klo 14.51 PDT