今年是虎年，這個生肖年對我來說意義非凡。我第一次來中國是在2010年，上一個虎年，這意味著我在這個美好的國家——現(xiàn)在被我稱為“家”，已經(jīng)度過了一整輪生肖周期。無論出于個人角度還是職業(yè)角度，這個虎年匯集了我生命中的幾個重要事件。2022年，我的大哥Dave就年滿50周歲了。這讓我難以相信。近半個世紀(jì)以來，我一直在“仰視”他，如果沒有他的愛和支持，我不會在國外生活這么久。2022年，我也分別迎來我侄子Lucas和Logan的20歲和17歲生日。我第一次來中國時，他們還只是小孩子，而現(xiàn)在他們已經(jīng)長大成人。毫無疑問，我留在中國這么久的最大遺憾是我錯過了他們太多的童年時光。于我而言，家人意味著一切，離開家人是一個嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)。從專業(yè)角度來說，2022年意味著我與野生動物打交道的職業(yè)生涯走過了25年。不妨說這是我的“絲綢之路”，讓我走上了通往中國的道路。

25年前的1997年，我開始在紐約的科尼島水族館做志愿者。我在學(xué)生時代的生物課成績就很好，一直以來我對動物都很感興趣。大學(xué)畢業(yè)后，我決定要做一名動物園管理員。成為志愿者的第二天，是我永遠(yuǎn)難忘的一天。除了在新工作之初，我因一無所知而產(chǎn)生典型焦慮感之外，強(qiáng)烈的、無處不在的魚腥味差點(diǎn)讓我提前結(jié)束職業(yè)生涯。那天清晨，我剛剛稱出并分離了大約50公斤的生魚，為每只動物準(zhǔn)備了特別的餐食，并清洗了數(shù)不清的盤子，這時我突然被叫去幫著喂海象。顯然，水族館那天人手不足。無論如何，沒有什么能讓我對接下來發(fā)生的事真正地提前做好準(zhǔn)備。動物園管理員遞給我一桶魚，說：“你來喂Aiviq，不要夸‘好’，那是我們訓(xùn)練時才使用的專用詞。慢慢來，跟著我走，跟上我，如果它從水里出來了，就趕緊跑向應(yīng)急梯。”在這樣的指引下，我穿過一扇厚重的鋼板門，耐心等待著——在我面前的水里的，就是Aiviq。

Aiviq重達(dá)1000公斤，是一只年輕的雄性海象。當(dāng)我盯著它巨大的頭顱時，我的腦海中浮現(xiàn)出它殺死我易如反掌的各種畫面。拜豐富的想象力所賜，我當(dāng)即想到它在我身上自在翻滾的樣子，甚至能用它巨大的體重壓死我，或者把我撞到水里淹死我，或者讓我在接近冰點(diǎn)的水中漸漸凍死。當(dāng)我“沉浸”在這些可怕的死法中時，Aiviq大聲呼了一口氣，我猛然清醒過來?？粗鼭M眼期待地盯著我，我突然反應(yīng)過來：哦，是的，我該喂它了。當(dāng)我伸手喂魚給它吃時，我拂過它那又長又粗的觸須，就像硬塑料吸管一樣，向著它嘴的方向蠕動著。隨著嘴唇最輕微、最溫柔的接觸，它啜飲起魚來。我很難用言語來形容當(dāng)時的感受，但好像有些微妙的變化正在悄悄發(fā)生著。這種感覺如雨后初霽。那一刻，我向自己承諾：無論如何，我都要致力于動物保護(hù)。

時間快進(jìn)到15年后的2012年，我兌現(xiàn)了我的承諾。在美國當(dāng)過動物園管理員后，我回到大學(xué)繼續(xù)攻讀保護(hù)生物學(xué)碩士學(xué)位，成為波多黎各一家靈長類動物中心的經(jīng)理，之后又在中國的一家黑熊康復(fù)中心工作了一年半。后來，我經(jīng)歷了另一件改變了我人生軌跡的事，而這與另一種動物相關(guān)。這一次，我在成都大熊貓繁育研究基地工作。我?guī)е煌肭泻玫奶O果，與一只名叫“美蘭”（音譯）的成年雄性熊貓面對面地進(jìn)行了一次正強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練（我會在下文解釋其含義）。

時間再次慢了下來，就像電影《黑客帝國》中的一個場景那樣。我可以看到美蘭每一根長睫毛，甚至能給它濕潤的大鼻子來次特寫。令我想不到的是110公斤的美蘭竟可以不費(fèi)吹灰之力地把我的胳膊掰成兩半。它可以輕易地咬掉我的手指，甚至直到我尖叫之前，它自己不會有察覺。我工作時和很多熊打過交道，但從來沒有一次像現(xiàn)在這樣和大熊貓親密接觸過。雖然很多人會癡迷于大熊貓看起來有多么可愛，但與它們打交道的專業(yè)人士卻對其強(qiáng)大力量充滿敬意。于是，有關(guān)我被打傷或打死的各種場景又一次在我腦海中慢慢展開。不過這一次，我的同事袁波（音譯）清了清嗓子。我回過神來：哦，是的，我應(yīng)該去喂熊貓。我慢慢遞出一片蘋果，美蘭輕輕叼走，自信而溫柔，完全不像我想象的那樣。微妙的變化又發(fā)生了，一切都恰到好處。

《一切都恰到好處》（Everything in its right place）是英國搖滾樂隊(duì)Radiohead的一首歌，這首歌完美概括了我這十年在成都大熊貓基地的工作感受。當(dāng)?shù)谝淮蝸淼酱笮茇埢貢r，我立即明白了基地需要什么，畢竟這寫在我的崗位描述里了。我的工作是為熊貓的正強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練和環(huán)境豐富化提供建議和幫助，不斷尋求改善熊貓健康和福祉的方法。此外，我將成為一名行為研究員。雖然這是基地所需要的，也是我夢寐以求的工作，但其實(shí)我真正在意的是一種歸屬感。

對我來說，離家那么久，我不僅需要一份令我滿足的工作，更需要一個好家庭。盡管我很熱愛我的工作，并從中找到了個人價值，但最終是同事們的熱情、同情和友誼超越了語言障礙和文化障礙，支撐我一直在大熊貓基地工作下去。在我上班的第一天，當(dāng)時的研究主任侯榮（音譯）見到我，并給了我一個“全權(quán)委托”。她告訴我，她會支持任何能夠改善熊貓福祉和管理的工作，她也是這么做的。從一開始，侯主任和同事們的支持對我來說意味著一切。

在最初幾個月，我沉浸在與大熊貓有關(guān)的一切中。它們是如此獨(dú)特又驚人的物種。有關(guān)大熊貓的解剖學(xué)、生理學(xué)和行為學(xué)的幾乎每個方面都圍繞著一個簡單的事實(shí)，即從一種食肉的雜食熊進(jìn)化成了一種專吃竹子的覓食者。不夸張地說，大熊貓99%的食物都是竹子。在它們可愛的圓滾滾的腦袋、和小泰迪熊一樣的口鼻中，有著高度進(jìn)化的錨點(diǎn)，這些錨點(diǎn)正是它們巨大而極其強(qiáng)大的下顎肌肉所需要的，用以折斷、壓碎和咀嚼竹子。它們可愛的像連指手套一樣的爪子之所以會長成這樣，是因?yàn)樗鼈兊募倌粗高M(jìn)化到可以幫助它們抓住和操縱竹子。它們懶惰、自在地大搖大擺，實(shí)際上是新陳代謝低于預(yù)期的結(jié)果——這也是一種適應(yīng)方式，幫助它們應(yīng)對因竹子飲食造成的營養(yǎng)缺乏的問題。這些只是大熊貓進(jìn)化到以竹子為食時眾多適應(yīng)方式中的三種，更深入的細(xì)節(jié)已經(jīng)超出了這篇文章應(yīng)提及的內(nèi)容。但請相信我，理解大熊貓與竹子之間的獨(dú)特關(guān)系是保護(hù)大熊貓、成功管理圈養(yǎng)物種的基礎(chǔ)。

那么，如何成功管理圈養(yǎng)的大熊貓呢？這個問題很復(fù)雜。有兩種動物飼養(yǎng)實(shí)踐已被證明是至關(guān)重要的，這就是正強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練和環(huán)境豐富化。正強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練（或簡稱“訓(xùn)練”）是一種訓(xùn)練動物的技術(shù)，即每次動物正確執(zhí)行指令時獎勵它們食物。這種訓(xùn)練提高了動物對指令的響應(yīng)效率。作為籌備動物公演過程中的一環(huán)，這種訓(xùn)練方法在動物園和水族館已經(jīng)有幾十年的使用歷史了。而最近，動物管理員開始通過訓(xùn)練以讓動物配合獸醫(yī)檢查。這種實(shí)踐對管理圈養(yǎng)熊貓而言至關(guān)重要，讓我們能夠在不為它們注射麻醉劑的情況下收集血樣、注射疫苗并進(jìn)行體檢。此舉大大減輕了大熊貓和飼養(yǎng)員雙方的壓力，更何況還很有趣，是我一天中最美好的時光。

我之所以如此喜歡訓(xùn)練熊貓，是因?yàn)檎麄€過程是建立在信任以及與每只動物形成聯(lián)結(jié)的基礎(chǔ)上的。一名出色的訓(xùn)練師要了解每只熊貓的個性和需求，雖然它們看上去很相似，但實(shí)際卻有著截然不同的個性。有些熊貓喜歡與人類接觸，有些則不然；有些很聰明，能很快掌握新事物，有些則很害羞，學(xué)習(xí)速度較慢；有些雖然看似可愛，但實(shí)際卻很有攻擊性。作為訓(xùn)練員，我們需要認(rèn)識到這些特征，以熊貓感到舒適的速度進(jìn)行訓(xùn)練，才能達(dá)成訓(xùn)練目標(biāo)。舉個近期的例子，在一次例行的獸醫(yī)檢查中，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)一只熊貓長了腫瘤。我們立即開始訓(xùn)練它接受超聲波檢查，以便監(jiān)測腫瘤的發(fā)展情況。起初，這只熊貓比較敏感，但一段時間后，我們?nèi)〉昧怂男湃危啻纬暡z查都順利進(jìn)行。不幸的是，在一次檢查中，我們注意到腫瘤已經(jīng)開始生長。好在，熊貓長期受益于訓(xùn)練項(xiàng)目，我們也及早發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題并對它采取了治療，現(xiàn)在這只熊貓已經(jīng)徹底痊愈，過著健康、正常的生活。我的訓(xùn)練工作拯救了它的生命，這是我職業(yè)生涯中的高光時刻。

訓(xùn)練是直接與熊貓互動以提升其福祉，而環(huán)境豐富化則是一種更被動的改善其圈養(yǎng)生活的技術(shù)。這是一個比較寬泛的術(shù)語，但基本意義上環(huán)境豐富化（或簡稱“豐富化”）是一種管理技術(shù)，旨在為圈養(yǎng)動物模擬復(fù)雜的野生環(huán)境，使其像野生動物一樣生活。例如，熊貓喜歡攀爬，我們就要確保有足夠的樹木可供其攀爬，甚至建造攀爬平臺，提升環(huán)境的復(fù)雜性。熊貓經(jīng)常洗澡，因此每個圍欄外設(shè)有一個水池。熊貓還喜歡四處嗅聞和探索，我們就增加了一些新奇的物品和玩具供其研究和嬉戲。豐富化的關(guān)鍵是讓動物能夠選擇和控制它們與環(huán)境互動的方式和時間。如果熊貓想爬上人造攀爬架或玩玩具，那很好；如果它們不這么做，也沒關(guān)系。重要的是，這是它們自己的選擇。給予熊貓這種基本的自由，使我們在提高其生活質(zhì)量方面取得了長足的進(jìn)步。誠然，對我們來說，不斷想出刺激熊貓的新方法是一個挑戰(zhàn)，但觀察到它們使用我們制作的物品，并因此而更加快樂和健康，也同樣是一種收獲。

最后，作為一名行為研究人員，我有幾個不同的職責(zé)和研究興趣。職責(zé)之一是收集觀察數(shù)據(jù)，以協(xié)助動物管理員評估和改進(jìn)措施（包括環(huán)境豐富化和正強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練），從而確保熊貓福祉。我還與基地的繁殖團(tuán)隊(duì)合作，致力于提高熊貓的自然繁殖成功率。我們越來越了解性格和自然交配選擇的重要性，解釋和應(yīng)用這些知識則是我工作的一部分。最近，我給我母親發(fā)了一段熊貓的生活視頻，她說：“如果能有你這份工作，我就整天看著熊貓，不工作了?！蔽胰炭〔唤?，實(shí)際上我的工作正是整天觀察熊貓——畢竟這是我的工作職責(zé)。再次聲明，能整天觀察熊貓，我再高興不過了。

我深深地愛上了在中國的生活，在大熊貓基地的十年是一段難忘的經(jīng)歷。我永遠(yuǎn)感謝前主任張志和（音譯）博士和侯榮（音譯）副主任給了我這個千載難逢的機(jī)會和難能可貴的信任，也感謝吳永申（音譯）主任對我長期以來的鼎力支持。我期待未來即將發(fā)生的更美好的故事。最后，無論逆境還是順境，風(fēng)雨還是彩虹，包括我們正共同經(jīng)歷著的新冠肺炎疫情，大熊貓基地的工作人員永遠(yuǎn)是我的家人，是幫我渡過難關(guān)的支柱。我為我們團(tuán)隊(duì)在保護(hù)大熊貓方面所做的工作和取得的成就感到驕傲，也很榮幸能為成都大熊貓基地盡綿薄之力?；⒛昕鞓?！

It’s the Year of the Tiger, yes, this is really a panda story, but the fact it’s a tiger year is very significant for me. I first came to China in 2010, during the last year of the tiger, which means I’ve spent an entire zodiac cycle in this wondrous country that I now call home. This tiger year marks several important events in my life, both personally and professionally. In 2022, my big brother Dave will turn 50! It’s hard to believe that for nearly half a century I’ve looked up to him. I would never have been able to live abroad for so long without his love and support. The year 2022 also marks the 20th and 17th birthdays of my nephews Lucas and Logan. They were just little children when I first came to China and now they are grown men. Without a doubt, my biggest regret in choosing to stay here for so long is that I have missed so much of their childhood. My family mean everything to me, and it’s been a serious challenge being away from them. Professionally speaking, 2022 also marks 25 years of my career working with wildlife, which metaphorically speaking was my silk road that put me on the path that led to China.

It was 25 years ago, in 1997, that I began working as a volunteer at the Coney Island Aquarium in New York City. I had always been interested in animals and scored highly in biology at school. After graduating from college, I decided I would have a go at being a zookeeper. I will never forget my second day as a volunteer. In addition to the typical feeling of anxiety from not knowing anything at the start of a new job, the over-powering, ever-present smell of fish nearly ended my career before it began. Early that morning, I had just weighed out and separated around 50 kg of raw fish, prepared special meals for each animal, and washed what felt like endless dishes, when I was unexpectedly called to help feed the walruses. Apparently, the Aquarium was short-staffed that day. In any case, nothing could have really prepared me for what came next. The zookeeper handed me a bucket of fish and said, “you will feed Aiviq, don’t say ‘good’, that is a word we only use for training, take your time and keep pace with me, follow my lead, and if he gets out of the water, run for the emergency ladder”. With that bit of instruction, I passed through a heavy plated steel door, and waiting patiently—in the water in front of me, was Aiviq.

At around 1000 kg, Aiviq was a young male walrus. While I stared at his massive head, different scenarios of how easily he could kill me played out in my mind. I have an active imagination, so what can I say? The first thing I thought was that he could simply roll over on top of me and crush me with his bulk, or perhaps knock me into the water and drown me, or I would get hypothermia in the near-freez-ing water and die from that. While I continued pondering my grisly demise, Aiviq exhaled loudly, and I snapped out of it. He just stared at me expectedly, and then it clicked, oh yeah, I am supposed to feed him. As I reached out my hand and offered him a fish, I brushed his long, thick vibrissae (the scientific term for whiskers). They felt like hard plastic straws that wiggled inward towards his mouth, and with the slightest, most gentle contact of his lips, he slurped up the fish. It’s hard for me to put it into words, but suddenly something changed. It felt like the first sunny day after weeks of rain. At that moment, I promised myself that no matter what, I would work to protect animals.

Fast-forward 15 years to 2012 and I had kept my promise. After working as a zookeeper in the US, going back to college for a Master’s degree in conservation biology, becoming a manager at a primate center in Puerto Rico, followed by a year and a half at a black bear rehabilitation center in China, I had another life-changing event in connection with a different species of animal. This time it was my first week of work at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and, armed with a bowl of chopped apples, I was face to face in a positive reinforcement training session (I’ll explain a little later what this means) with an adult male panda named Meilan.

Again, time slowed to a halt—it was like a scene from the movie The Matrix. I could see each of his long eyelashes and the details of his large moist nose. The first thing that entered my mind was that the 110 kg Meilan could snap my arm in two without much effort. He could easily bite off my fingers and probably not even notice until I started to scream. I’ve worked with many bears before but never as closely as this. While the general public is obsessed with how cute giant pandas appear to be, the professionals who work with them have a fond respect for just how powerful they can be. Again, each scenario involving me being maimed or killed was slowly unfolding in my mind, this time though, my colleague Yuan Bo cleared his throat and again, I realized, oh yeah, I’m supposed to feed the panda. I slowly held out an apple slice and Meilan gingerly took it with his mouth, confident and yet gentle, not at all as I had expected. Again, something changed. This time, it felt like everything in its right place.

“Everything in its right place” is a song by the British rock band Radiohead and it pretty much sums up how I have felt during my past 10 years working at the Chengdu Panda Base. When I first arrived at the Panda Base, it was instantly clear what the Base needed, it was in my job description after all. Continually seeking ways to improve the health and welfare of the pandas, my job would be to advise and assist in both the positive reinforcement training of pandas and the environmental enrichment program and, in addition, I would work as a behavioral researcher. While this is what the Base needed, and it was and still is my dream job, what I really needed was a sense of belonging.

For me to survive away from my family for such long periods, I didn’t just need a fulfilling job, I really needed another family. As much as I love the work that I do, and find deep personal meaning in it, in the end, it is the warmth, compassion and friendship of my colleagues, that transcends both language and cultural barriers, which has kept me working in the Panda Base. During my first day of work, Hou Rong, the director of research at the time, met with me and gave me a “carte blanche”. She told me that she would support any work that would improve the welfare and management of the pandas, and she meant it. From the beginning, her support, and the support of my colleagues, have meant the world to me.

For my first few months, I immersed myself in everything panda. They are such a unique and amazing species. Pretty much every aspect of their anatomy, physiology and behavior revolves around the plain simple fact that they evolved from a meat-eating, omnivorous bear into an obligate bamboo forager. Ninety-nine percent of their diet is bamboo, really, 99%. Their cute, round head and short teddy bear like muzzle conceals highly evolved anchor points for their massive, extremely powerful jaw muscles that are needed to break, crush and chew bamboo. Their cute mitten-like paws appear that way because of their pseudo thumbs, which have evolved to help them hold and manipulate bamboo. Their lazy, carefree swagger is actually a result of their lower-than-expected metabolism—another adaptation that helps them cope with their nutrient-poor bamboo diet. These are just three of the ways in which pandas have evolved to eat bamboo. Getting into further details is beyond the scope of this short article, but believe me when I say that understanding the pandas’ unique relationship with bamboo is fundamental to their conservation and to successfully managing the species in captivity.

So then, how does one successfully manage pandas in captivity? This is complicated. There are two animal husbandry practices that have been proven to be crucial—these are positive reinforcement training and environmental enrichment. Positive reinforcement training (or just “training” for short), is a technique where we teach animals by rewarding them each time a behavior is performed correctly. Training increases the chance that an animal will do what we ask, when we ask for it. This method has been used in zoos and aquariums for decades as part of public animal shows but, more recently, animal managers have been using training to teach animals to participate in veterinary exams. This practice is critical to the management of captive pandas because it allows us to collect blood samples, give vaccines and perform physical examinations on our animals without using anesthesia. This greatly reduces the stress for both the pandas and the keepers, and to be honest, it’s a lot of fun and the best part of my day.

The reason I enjoy training pandas so much is that the whole process is based on trust and forming a bond with each animal. In order to be an effective trainer, you need to understand the individual personality and needs of each panda. While they all appear to look the same, they actually have strikingly different personalities. Some pandas enjoy human contact, some don’t, some are very clever and quick to catch on to new things, some are shy and learn at a slower pace and some, as cute as they may seem, can be aggressive. As trainers, we need to acknowledge this, working at a pace with which the panda is comfortable, and then nearly anything is possible. As a recent example, during a routine veterinary checkup, it was discovered one of our pandas had a tumor. Immediately, we began training him to accept ultrasound exams so that we could monitor the progression of the tumor. He was very sensitive at first but, by taking the time to gain his trust, we were able to conduct multiple voluntary ultrasound examinations. Unfortunately, during one of the examinations, we noticed that the tumor had begun growing. However, because of the training program, we were able to detect the problem sufficiently early to treat him successfully. The panda has fully recovered and is now living a healthy, normal life. Knowing that my training work helped save him is one of my career highlights.

While training involves directly interacting with the pandas to improve their welfare, environmental enrichment is more about passive techniques to improve their lives in captivity. It’s a very broad term, but at its most basic, environmental enrichment (or just “enrichment”) is a management technique that aims to mimic the complexity of the wild environment for captive animals, with the aim of allowing them to behave as if they were still in the wild. For example, pandas love climbing, so we ensure that they have sufficient trees to climb and even construct climbing platforms to add complexity to their homes. Pandas will often bathe, so each enclosure has a pool. Pandas also enjoy sniffing and exploring, so we add novel objects and toys for them to investigate and manipulate. The key to enrichment is offering the animals choice and control over how and when they interact with their environment. If the pandas want to climb a structure we made or use one of our toys, wonderful, if they choose not to, that is also fine. What is important is that it is their choice. Giving pandas this basic freedom has allowed us to make great strides in improving the quality of their lives. Admittedly, it is a challenge for us to continually think of new ways to stimulate the pandas, but it’s equally rewarding to observe them using our creations and knowing that they are happier and healthier as a result.

James Ayala正在訓(xùn)練大熊貓

Finally, as a behavioral researcher, I have several different responsibilities and research interests. One of my duties is to collect observational data to assist our animal managers in assessing the well-being of our animals and improving different measures we take (including enrichment and training) to ensure the pandas’ welfare. I also work with our reproductive team to improve the natural breeding success of our giant pandas. We are increasing our understanding of the importance of personality and choice concerning natural mating, and it is part of my job to help interpret and apply this knowledge. Recently, I sent my mother a video of some examples of the pandas’ behaviors and she said, “if I had your job, I would just watch the pandas all day and never work”. I had to laugh because my job is literally to watch pandas all day—it is in my job description after all, and again I could not be happier.

In case it isn’t clear, I absolutely love my life in China and these past ten years at the Panda Base have truly been an unforgettable experience. I am eternally indebted to Dr. Zhang Zhihe, the former director, and vice director Hou Rong for giving me this incredibly rare opportunity and for putting their trust in me. I am equally indebted to director Wu Yongshen for his tremendous, continued support and I am excited to look ahead to the great things that the future will bring. Finally, through thick and thin, good times and bad, including the Covid-19 pandemic that we have all weathered together, the Panda Base staff have been my family and anchor through the storm. I am truly proud of the work and accomplishments we have achieved as a team to conserve giant pandas and am grateful to be a small part of everything at the Chengdu Panda Base. Happy Year of the Tiger!