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Jornal Escolar AE Muralhas do Minho | 2024-2025

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Searching for Pandas: a surpreendente jornada de uma cientista nas florestas da China

Carolina Pereira, 8.º F | 05-05-2025

Last week, a group of scientists went to the forests of China, searching for Giant Pandas. Check the experience in first hand written by the scientist Carolina Pereira.

On the 15th of April 2025, I landed in China for the first time ever, surrounded by a group of five of the greatest scientists I’ve ever met, sharing with them a common goal: finding and studying Giant Pandas. I wasn’t expecting that I was about to live one of the best but shocking experiences of my life.

We entered the Sichuan forest early in the morning, hoping we could find some pandas on the first day. When night arrived, we hadn’t found any. Where were the pandas? We only saw a few of them on the third day. At the end of the week, we drew some conclusions: there were fewer pandas living in the forest. Why? Farming and herding. During the last 15 years, these activities have led to a reduction of over one third of the Sichuan forest. The huge amount of cattle affects bamboo growth, which leads to the isolation of pandas and makes their reproduction even harder.

Giant Pandas are endangered. But, what can we do to help? Before leaving China, our group wrote a letter to the Chinese government, asking to forbid farming in that area. One of the scientists, Freddie Bristow, went further and criticized the government on social media for their lack of action. Coincidentally, he had to leave China on a different plane than planned. I haven’t seen him again yet... Where is he? What have they done?

However, for all those who don’t live in China, the best thing we can do is to pollute the least we can, reducing our carbon footprint. Let’s save the pandas, together!