In a nationwide first, a Chinese university has launched a “school of giant panda studies” focusing on training experts in how to protect the much-loved but vulnerable species.

China West Normal University, located in southwest China’s Sichuan province, set up a school specializing in the niche area under its College of Life Sciences, and will welcome its first undergraduates this fall.

The program aims to foster a new generation of conservation experts who can contribute in various ways to China’s drive to save the species, including restoring and managing habitats, breeding pandas, and releasing animals into the wild, according to the university.

The newly built college will offer a bachelor’s program in zoology and nature reserve management that integrates courses specializing in giant panda conservation. Fifty students are expected to enter the program this year, the school announced.

“Students will be given the opportunity to participate in feeding, breeding, and disease prevention work,” Wei Wei, a teacher at the school, told local media. “After graduation, they can work on the front lines in zoos or reproduction bases, or pursue further studies to learn about the habits and protection needs of giant pandas.”

China West Normal University has long been a pioneer in giant panda research. Located in Sichuan province — home to 75% of the world’s giant pandas remaining in the wild — the college hosts renowned scholars, including Hu Jinchu, who led China’s first nationwide field survey of the species in 1974.

China has made significant strides in rescuing the giant panda from extinction, which led to the species being declared “no longer endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2016.

The number of giant pandas living in the wild is estimated to have grown from around 1,100 in the 1980s to 1,900 today, according to data from China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Another 728 pandas are living in captivity around the world.

China has invested heavily in recent years to expand the species’ natural habitats. This includes creating a gigantic 27,000-square-kilometer national park in 2021, which connects dozens of existing conservation areas.

Xu Binrong, a conservation specialist, said the new university program would make a real contribution to the country’s efforts to protect the giant panda. Conservation work is becoming increasingly complex as it moves beyond saving the species from extinction, requiring experts to consider how to balance the needs of local people and wildlife.

“From this perspective, the system of training talent also needs to be changed and enriched,” Xu wrote in a commentary published in domestic outlet Beijing News. “In addition to the traditional skills, it is essential to set up courses on managing specific species, environmental education and communication, and eco-ethics.”

There have been signs of a talent gap in the panda conservation field in recent years. Last year, a panda zoo in eastern China’s Jiangsu province was reportedly unable to find a qualified worker to feed its animals, despite receiving hundreds of applications.

 (Header image: VCG)