Infrared cameras in the Meishan section of the Giant Panda National Park in Sichuan province have captured rare footage of wild pandas loitering around man-made dens in their natural habitat.

"It's truly exciting to see these dens in action," said Yin Xuanhong, a staff member from the section. He revealed that the dens were part of an experiment, and the cameras recorded more than two dozen images of pandas at three designated artificial den sites.

"Judging by the pandas' body sizes and locations, we believe those photos belong to at least two or three different pandas," he added.

In an effort to help wild pandas in reproduction, Yin and his colleagues built five artificial dens in Meishan in June last year by using natural materials like deadwood, moss and bamboo branches.

Yin said the cameras they installed at the sites did not support real-time monitoring, so these images were not discovered until they retrieved the memory cards recently.

Besides giant pandas, the cameras also captured images of many other wild animals, including tufted deer, wild boars, red pandas and black bears, repeatedly visiting the dens, and some even taking up residence in them, he added.

Yang Yunwei, deputy director of the park's Meishan branch, explained that giant pandas need to find dens for reproduction, and typically they would choose tree hollows, caves, or rock crevices.

As such natural sites were not easy to find in this section, the bureau jointly launched a pilot research program with the Giant Panda Small Population Conservation Alliance to build man-made dens for the pandas, he said.

Citing the fourth national giant panda census, he said that the 512-square-kilometer Meishan section is home to 13 wild giant pandas. Female captive panda Qian Qian was released into the wild in 2023 to boost the wild panda population and also lives in this section.

"We're planning to build five additional artificial dens and five watering locations in the second half of this year," Yang said. "These facilities will not only serve giant pandas but also improve living conditions for other wildlife species."

"Moreover, we will install infrared cameras with real-time data transmission capabilities to monitor wildlife activities at the artificial den sites," he added.

Given the relatively small number of giant pandas in the section, the frequently captured images indicate that the artificial dens have gained preliminary acceptance among pandas, said Ni Jiubin, secretary-general of the Giant Panda Small Population Conservation Alliance.

"Further monitoring is needed to confirm whether the pandas will use them as breeding sites," he added.

Ni said the research program aims to create more breeding sites and shelters for isolated small panda groups and help enlarge their populations.

The wild giant panda population is fragmented into 33 groups, 22 of which are at risk of extinction because of their small populations, according to the fourth national giant panda census.

Since 2021, the alliance has supported the construction of around 40 artificial dens in cooperation with national park authorities, Ni said.