Tao Tao

Basic Profile

Tao Tao (Chinese: 淘淘, studbook number 777) is a male giant panda born on August 3, 2010 at 4:24 AM at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) Wolong Hetaoping Rewilding Training Base. He was the first giant panda ever born in a rewilding training enclosure.

His mother is Cao Cao (草草, sb581) — a wild-born female rescued in 2003 who became a pioneering rewilding mother. His father is Lu Lu (芦芦, sb503), a wild-born male from Lushan.

Tao Tao’s name means “Naughty” or “Wash/Select” — chosen because he was the selective result of the rewilding program.

The Mother-Rearing Method

Tao Tao was the first panda trained using the mother-rearing method (母兽带仔野化培训), developed after 祥祥 (Xiang Xiang)‘s death in 2007 revealed the failure of human-rearing.

Key Principles

• No human contact: All personnel wore panda costumes (伪装服) smeared with panda scent when near the enclosure
• Mother teaches: Cao Cao taught Tao Tao all survival skills — foraging, climbing, predator avoidance, den building
• Natural environment: The training enclosures simulated wild conditions with native bamboo, steep terrain, and natural water sources

Training Phases

1. Phase I (Birth – Feb 2011): 2,400 m² enclosure — basic bonding and nursing with mother
2. Phase II (Feb 2011 – May 2012): 40,000 m² enclosure at 2,050–2,140m elevation — climbing, foraging, orientation skills
3. Phase III (May – Oct 2012): 240,000 m² enclosure at 2,150–2,500m elevation — advanced survival including predator recognition

Natural Disasters

During training, Tao Tao and his mother survived:

• August 13, 2010: Catastrophic mudslide
• March 21, 2011: 40cm snowfall — they found shelter under large trees where bamboo was still accessible
• July 3, 2011: Torrential rain and mudslide

Predator Training

Researchers placed a fake leopard with recorded leopard calls along Tao Tao’s path. During a June 2012 test, Tao Tao immediately fled over 100 meters upon encountering the decoy — demonstrating successful predator recognition.

Release into the Wild

On October 7, 2012, Tao Tao was lured into a transport cage after a 2-hour operation at 2,100m elevation. He was driven over 400 km to Liziping National Nature Reserve in Shimian County, Ya’an.

On October 11, 2012, at 10:13 AM, State Forestry Administrator Zhao Shucong and Sichuan Vice Governor Zhong Mian opened the transport cage. Unlike 祥祥 who ran off immediately, Tao Tao hesitantly stepped out, looked around, and slowly disappeared into the bamboo forest.

This release was hailed as a milestone: Xiang Xiang’s death had shown what NOT to do; Tao Tao’s mother-rearing approach offered a new path forward.

Post-Release Survival

Recapture and Health Check (2013)

On December 28, 2013, monitoring teams unexpectedly found Tao Tao in a recapture cage at Liziping. Veterinarians conducted a full health check:

• Weight: 115 kg (healthy for a 3-year-old wild male)
• Overall condition: Excellent
• GPS collar: Replaced with new one

He was re-released on December 29, 2013.

Long-term Survival

Tao Tao was monitored for at least 5 years post-release — the longest survival record for any rewilded captive-born panda at the time. He established a stable territory, foraged independently, and showed appropriate avoidance of humans and predators.

Legacy

Tao Tao’s success proved that the mother-rearing method was viable. Key achievements:

• First panda born in a rewilding enclosure
• First successfully adapted rewilded captive panda
• Lived 5+ years in the wild (record at the time)
• Paved the way for subsequent releases: Zhang Xiang (张想), Hua Jiao (华姣), Hua Yan (华妍), Zhang Meng (张梦)

The program’s survival rate improved from 0% (Xiang Xiang, human-reared) to 87.5% (7 of 8 mother-reared pandas survived) thanks largely to lessons learned from Tao Tao’s journey.