China released another two captive- bred giant pandas into the wild today in southwest China's Sichuan Province, in an attempt to diversify the endangered species' genetic pool.
Hua Yan and Zhang Meng, both females, were born at the semi-wild training center in Wolong Nature Reserve in August 2013 and July 2014, respectively.
They were released into Liziping Nature Reserve this morning.
They are the sixth and seventh giant pandas to have been released to the wild.
Both of them were declared in good shape and ready for release after a thorough physical examination at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) on Tuesday.
"The two pandas have learned the basic skills needed to survive in the wild, including foraging for food, distinguishing and hiding from predators, and adapting to harsh weather conditions," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Huang Yan, a panda reintroduction specialist as saying.
Both have been fitted with ID chips to monitor their physical conditions and GPS collars.
The best time to release pandas is late autumn or early winter, the time when wild young pandas usually leave their mothers.
"Releasing them to the wild is just the beginning. We'll continue to monitor them and see whether they can survive in the wild," said Huang.
"We hope they can mate and breed."
China first released a captive-bred panda into the wild in 2006.
Xiang Xiang, who was a five-year-old at the time, was released into Wolong National Nature Reserve.
However, he died roughly a year later after fighting with other pandas over food and territory.
In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Tao Tao (male), Zhang Xiang (female) and XueXue (female) were released into Liziping reserve.
XueXue died a month after her release in November 2014.
The last panda to be released was Hua Jiao, a two-year-old female, in November 2015.
