Man-Animal War: Wild Pandas Kill Human-Trained Infiltrator

Xiang Xiang, the first Panda raised in captivity and released into the wild died in February, apparently the result of an attack from other pandas over territory or food, according to Chinese media reports just released this week (BBC's story here). Sure, it may seem like some misunderstanding over territory, but let's face it, the wild pandas do not trust outsiders, especially ones trained by humans. And why should they with a war going on that jeopordizes their very existence.

Clearly, China's use of "Panda Diplomacy" does not sit well with the wild pandas, and certainly an outside panda joining their territory would be quickly suspect of spying activities. Afterall, you cannot, after years of poaching, suddenly trust the human population to provide a friendly ambassador. To them it is nothing more than a poacher in panda's clothing.

Furthermore, the fact that it was a male panda does not seem like too smart a move on China's part. One of the scientist involved said, "We chose Xiang Xiang because we thought that a strong male panda would have a better chance of surviving in the harsh natural environment." That may seem logical, but, in the animal world, alpha males are highly suspect in new social settings, especially when trying to infiltrate their legion. In my opinion, a hot female panda would find open arms much better...that's how it is at the club anyway.