Vanessa Hull, a graduate student at Michigan State University (MSU), is hoping to track down some giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). She is part of a team of scientists from MSU who have spent years gathering data about these elusive and endangered bears. Now, Vanessa and her colleagues plan to capture and collar up to four wild giant pandas. If they succeed, they can then follow the pandas' movements in the mountains of Sichuan, China.

The task is a challenging one since wild pandas are both secretive and extremely rare—there are only between 1,600 and 3,000 animals left in the wild. Giant pandas live in forest habitat that consists of a mix of coniferous and broadleaf species. But only one species of vegetation really matters to the panda: bamboo. The forests they inhabit must have significant stands of bamboo, the giant panda's main food source.

Despite being carnivores (Order Carnivora), giant pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo—they eat almost every part of the plant: the shoots, stems and leaves. Since bamboo is a poor nutritional source, the panda must eat a lot of it to get the nutrients and energy it requires. Unfortunately, habitat loss and degredation has eliminated much of the bamboo-flanked lands on which they depend. Shifting agriculture, plantations, logging, and land development are among the human activities that have placed pressure on the pandas' habitat. To make matters worse for the species, it has also been the target of poaching and illegal trapping.

If you want to follow along with the progress of the Michigan State University research team then you can find out more at their website or at their Flickr page. You can also keep up to date with Vanessa's day-to-day activities in her online journal.

Find out more:

• Ailuropoda melanoleuca (IUCN RedList)
• Bies, L. 2002. Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Animal Diversity Web. Accessed December 24, 2007.
• Giant Panda: Emblem of Hope for a Nation and Global Biodiversity (WWF)
• Vanessa's Panda Quest Journal (Michigan State University)
• To Catch a Panda (Michigan State University)

Photo © Mrbfaust / iStockphoto.