Early in July we animal lovers here at Tonic mentioned that Chengdu Panda Base in China’s Sichuan province was looking for six people to closely follow Giant panda’s at the center and to blog about their experiences. Now, it’s official, the application process for pambassadors is open for the next six weeks.
The contest is open to anyone age 18-40, is substance free, has good English writing skills and is physically fit. Should you be selected you will need to secure a tourist visa. From the internet applications, 12 semi-finalists will be flown to China for a week of training. Then six pambassadors will be chosen to stay for a full month.
Not only will the contest winners get hands-on experience with the pandas while embarking on an expedition with the Chengdu Panda Base scientific team, but they will also witness baby pandas being born and get to watch them grow!
“We hope that through this project more and more people will join our mission to protect pandas and will realize the importance of preserving wild habitats,” said Zhang Zhihe, head of the Chengdu Panda Base, according to AFP.
The center works to re-introduce pandas born in captivity to the wild through an intricate and slow process in the vast forests of the Sichuan province. There are only 1,600 of these animals left in the wild and they are notoriously hard to breed in captivity. They also have a hard time learning to live in their native habitats after human care.
Chengdu Panda Base has been fairly successful with its breeding program and in the past month has sent four pregnant pandas back into the a protected part of the region to have their cubs in the wild.
The pambassadors will truly enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The winners will get to experience the pandas up close and have a global platform to spread awareness through their own words, photos and videos, and lest we not forget, embark on an all-expense paid trip to China and be able to explore the city of Chengdu, as well.
Apply here and good luck!
Courtesy of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda.