Brown Panda Appears in Public for the First Time in China

A rare species of a brown panda bear, named Qizai, could be seen outdoors in the courtyard of its enclosure at the Qinling Sibao Science Park in China on Friday, being the world´s only representative of its subspecies raised in captivity.

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Abandoned by its mother when it was barely two months old, the 11-year-old Qizai had been attacked by other specimens in its puppy stage. For this reason, the animal received medical attention at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Qilin.

In 2009, Qizai was adopted by Pandas International, a U.S.-based NGO that seeks to ensure the preservation and propagation of the giant pandas.

The world's first brown panda was discovered in 1985 in the Qinling Mountains and it is suggested that their unusual colors are caused by a mutation or atavism. The Qiling research center attempted to cross Qizai with the female Zhu Zhu to seek offspring with his colors, but the result was not fruitful.