PDXWildlife has had a nearly constant presence at Bifengxia since 2011. Given the size of the facility it’s easy to meet a new faces each year. I first met Cheng Jian Bin, or “Bean” as we call him, last winter. Little did I know that he has been here for six years.
Me & Bean (Nathan & Cheng Jian Bin)
Cheng Jian Bin is a delight to be around, and it certainly helps that he can speak a decent amount of English. A considerable amount more than our Chinese. His nickname of “Bean” stems from the fact that he is about 6’3″ and skinny as a pole. His favorite bear, Shui Xiu (#698), is a wild caught female from Beichuan. Her capture date is March 22nd, 2008 and she is estimated to have been born around 2003. She is currently housed in the Panda Paradise here at Bifengxia. I tried to capture a recent photo of her, but the base is currently blanketed under a dense layer of fog.
Shui Xiu and her cub. Courtesy of Nat Geo Wild.
I like working with Cheng Jian Bin because he is very gentle with the bears and always tries to help us in conducting our research by bridging the gap in translational issues. The keepers are a tight knit group that have adjusted their own schedules to accommodate our studies. Because of this, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. We hope to continue working with “Bean” on future projects.