Recently, the body of a giant panda was discovered in a river in Fengtongzhai Town, Baoxing County, Ya’an, Sichuan, China, raising suspicions that it may have drowned.
Giant Panda Drowns in River
This “murder mystery” was uncovered by a local resident riding a motorcycle in western Sichuan. As he passed through Baoxing County, he suddenly spotted something unusual floating in the river, resembling a stranded object. Initially, the motorcyclist thought it was someone’s lost puppy and planned to rescue it.
A giant panda found dead in the river.
After receiving reports from the public, the Baoxing Forestry Bureau quickly arrived at the scene, where, as expected, a giant panda was found in the river and was believed to be dead. Subsequently, staff from relevant departments came to recover the giant panda’s body. After a preliminary examination, it was confirmed that this giant panda was an adult, showing no external injuries and likely having drowned.
However, further investigation is necessary to determine the actual cause of death. Therefore, the deceased giant panda was sent to the China Giant Panda Research and Conservation Center for additional analysis regarding the cause of death.
In fact, the notion of a giant panda drowning might seem odd, but this is not the first time such an incident has occurred. For instance, in June 2014, a six-year-old giant panda drowned near the entrance of the Gengda hydropower station in Wolong, Sichuan. According to staff at the time, the panda’s death may have been related to heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the incident.
Giant pandas, which typically inhabit mountainous regions, may encounter dangerous conditions when descending to drink water or foraging during heavy rains, inadvertently getting swept away by flash floods and suffering head injuries before falling into rivers and drowning.
In July 2018, a young giant panda was swept away by floods and drowned in Dayi County, Chengdu, Sichuan. After examination, it was discovered that undigested panda milk was still present in its stomach.
In May 2022, patrol staff from the Huayang Management Station of the Shaanxi Giant Panda National Park found the body of a giant panda on a rocky bank in the central Chaijiawan River. A preliminary assessment concluded that this was a natural death, likely also related to drowning at the time.
Can Giant Pandas Swim?
After witnessing many cases of panda drownings, numerous netizens have questioned whether giant pandas cannot swim. In reality, giant pandas, like many other wild bear species, can swim, and many individuals even enjoy lounging in the water.
However, this swimming ability is primarily exhibited in adult giant pandas, while younger pandas lack both the physical development and survival experience necessary for effective swimming, often only able to cross shallow rivers. Once mature, giant pandas are relatively proficient swimmers, but being able to swim does not guarantee they won’t drown.
Giant pandas are endemic mammals of China, known for their distinctive black and white fur and bamboo-exclusive diet.
When observing the habitat and lifestyle of giant pandas, we find that they primarily live in high mountainous areas where bamboo thrives. In such environments, there are hardly any large rivers, and they are usually dominated by small streams and brooks. Therefore, giant pandas face no issues surviving in these types of environments, often successfully navigating shallow waters by wading.
Furthermore, 99% of the giant panda’s diet consists of highly low-nutrient bamboo, leading to a daily routine focused on eating and resting for extended periods. Essentially, their swimming ability is instinctual, but this skill is not frequently utilized or practiced.
Giant pandas are facing the threat of extinction. Currently, there are only about 1,600 wild giant pandas left, and most pandas are kept in captivity in China.
As previously mentioned, their habitat mainly consists of small streams and brooks, making movement through such terrains generally trouble-free. However, when heavy rainfall occurs, flash floods can transform brooks into rivers and small streams into large rivers, posing significant danger to giant pandas.
Once a giant panda is swept away by a flash flood and falls from a height, it can easily lose its ability to move and risk being carried downstream and drowning. In summary, when living in the wild, unexpected situations can arise. Even if giant pandas possess innate swimming skills, there remains a possibility of drowning.
