On Jan. 19, the Shanghai Wildlife Park announced on its Weibo that pandas Guo Guo and Hua Sheng died on Dec. 26 and 31, 2016 respectively, of multiple organ failure.
Following the announcement, some experts questioned whether panda bases should be limited to Sichuan, as places outside the animal's natural habitat do not necessarily have the conditions to release pandas into the wild, which is the ultimate goal for scientific research.
On Jan. 21, the China Giant Panda Protection Research Center (CGPPRC) responded on its Weibo account, pointing out that Shanghai and Chengdu share a similar climate. Like Chengdu, Shanghai also has abundant bamboo, and the city benefits from the rational allocation of captive-bred giant pandas.
In addition, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou all possess advanced technologies and large-scale publicity and educational resources, according to the State Forestry Administration, supervisor of CGPPRC.
