• Join WWF’s Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness tour: May 12-19, 2012 and June 9-16, 2012.

Like the giant panda, the red panda eats primarily bamboo. © Susan A. Mainka / WWF-Canon

No trip to China is complete without a visit to see the giant panda, the country’s unofficial symbol.

But dozens of other wildlife species are found in China too, including these five that you may spot while on WWF’s tour.

Red panda: The bear-bodied, thick-furred species has little resemblance to its distant cousin except for the false thumb it both possesses, which is actually an extension of the wrist bone. The skillful, acrobatic animal stays predominantly in trees, using its tail for balance, and descends to the ground headfirst.

The Asiatic black bear has been the most popular source of gallbladders for traditional Chinese medicine. © Y.-J. Rey-Millet / WWF-Canon

Asiatic black bear: Also known as the moon bear, the Asiatic black bear is easily recognizable thanks to a patch of whitish fur in a crescent-shape on its chest. The species has seen a precipitous decline in its population because of poaching—bear organs are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Yellow-throated marten: The yellow-throated marten looks similar to its relative the weasel, but is distinguishable by its gold and black hair. It can be found both on the ground and in treetops.

Sichuan takin grow a second coat in the winter. © Donald G. Reid / WWF-Canon

Sichuan takin: A goat antelope, the Sichuan takin has a thick golden coat and upturned horns. It makes its home in the mountains during the summer—when it forms large herds—and moves to lower elevations in the winter—when it breaks up into smaller groups.

Blue eared pheasant: The blue eared pheasant has a striking red face, gray-blue feathers, and distinctive white “ears.” This large, hardy bird does well in mountainous forests and is found throughout China.

• Join WWF’s Wild & Ancient China Photo Tour, scheduled for May 27 – June 7, 2012.

© Staffan Widstrand / WWF

Test your knowledge of the wild world by taking these quizzes on the WWF Travel Blog.

• WWF’s 50th Anniversary

• Bear in Mind

• Birds of the Galapagos

• Endemic species of Madagascar

• Great Apes

WWF’s Dennis Jorgensen was recently featured on an episode of the PBS series This American Land, discussing WWF’s efforts to create large and uninterrupted conservation areas in the Northern Great Plains for the pronghorn (beginning at minute 17).

Travel to the Northern Great Plains during WWF’s Exploring Montana’s Prairies tour, scheduled for June 16 – 24, 2012.

The flightless cormorant is one of the world’s rarest bird species, with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the Galapagos. During a morning playing tourist on Fernandina Island, travel conservation blogger Bret Love of Global Green Travel shot this video of flightless cormorants doing their mating dance and shared it with WWF as the second part of his Wildlife of the Galapagos series.

We’re pleased to share his Wildlife of the Galapagos series over the course of the next few months.

First up: Snorkeling with sea lions …

Coming next: the mating dance of the flightless cormorant.

Our June Montana tour gives you exclusive access to the American Prairie Foundation reserve, putting you in close but safe proximity to bison. © WWF-US / Steve Morello

The Northern Great Plains region owes much of its historic biodiversity to the once-ubiquitous bison. An icon of the plains, the American bison once saw populations comprised of upwards of 60 million individuals.

10. Bison can persist in arid regions (Mexico) and in areas experiencing deep snow cover (Yellowstone National Park). Grasses and sedges form the mainstay of the mammal’s annual diet in all regions.

9. Bison are highly adapted to life on the plains: In winter, for example, their metabolism slows to 25 percent of its summer rate to conserve energy when forage becomes scarce.

8. Bison populations were decimated in the 1800s when the commercial market for bison hides exploded, and Easterners traveled to the Great Plains to shoot bison for sport.

7. Males weigh up to 2,000 pounds and measure six feet high at the shoulder. The largest wild male recorded was 2,800 pounds.

6. The Lakota word for the American bison is tatanka.

5. Though they appear slow because of their size and seemingly lethargic lifestyle, bison can run faster than 30 miles an hour.

4. Between 1980 and 1999, more than three times as many people in Yellowstone National Park were injured by bison than by bears. They are easily agitated.

3. A bison can jump six feet in the air.

2. There are 500,000 bison in North America and fewer than 30,000 in public herds within protected areas.

1. Bison, as graziers, play an important role in maintaining ecosystem health in North American prairies.

A polar bear tears at the carcass of a seal. Courtesy Lindblad Expeditions.

June 2011.
As the day winds to a close in the High Arctic, we are bathed in bright sunshine, with amazing snow-covered peaks to starboard. Tonight we will experience the most beautiful light in the land of the midnight sun as we continue our journey northward. But this has been a glorious day, filled with great wildlife encounters, so we should start at the beginning.

Cruising north on the west side of Spitsbergen, this morning’s exploration drew us into Bellsund with the intention of finding fast ice and perhaps our number one fascination, polar bears. After breakfast, we had our first landing in the High Arctic at the western tip of Nathorst Land, the area between the two majestic fjords that branch off from Bellsund. It was a beautiful spot for walks with vast snowy scenic views contrasting with macro views of tiny magenta saxifrage flowers blooming on the exposed tundra. Zodiac cruisers were thrilled by close sightings of walrus, and then by an arctic fox with its prey.

We continued on into Van Keulenfjorden, with expert eyes constantly scanning the ice and the shore. As lunch was drawing to a close our Expedition Leader, Bud, made the announcement we’d all been hoping for – a polar bear had been spotted ahead of the ship in the broken fast ice. It’s a very predictable way to clear the dining areas, as everyone quickly made their way to one of the forward deck areas. At first it was hard to spot the bear ahead, even more so to imagine the experienced eyes that found it 15 minutes earlier amid the distant jumble of ice. The Captain very slowly navigated the ship closer and closer for great views of what was not only the first polar bear of the Explorer’s Arctic season, but also, a bear on a kill! We continued to approach as gently as possible, and watched with hushed whispers of exclamation and excitement. The bear kept an eye on us as it continued to eat the last chunks of what was likely to have been a ringed seal earlier in the day. We pulled away just as the polar bear silently slipped into the water and swam off into the ice.

As we sailed away, we suddenly found ourselves very close to a bearded seal on an ice floe, somewhat unperturbed by our presence. Its face was perfectly mirrored in the flat calm sea. Shutters whirled away at yet another great photo opportunity.

As we furthered our exploration into the northern arm of the sound, Van Mijenfjorden, we quickly discovered two things. First, the fast ice was still very thick up into the fjord, and second, there was another polar bear out in this expansive plain of ice. Though the views were distant, we saw the bear walking towards the center of the fjord, only to return towards the north side and to the seal kill it had been feeding on. Captain Kruess pushed the ship forward into the pack ice, until the ice was too thick, with the distance in thick ice too far to reach without disturbing the animal. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to find yet another of these top predators out in its favorite environment.

As the ship was turning away from the thick fast ice, a walrus was seen off in the pack ice. The Captain proceeded to edge the ship slowly, but steadily forward until we had good views of a younger male walrus out on the ice. To our stern, the view was stunning with gorgeous colors reflected in the water amid the broken ice, and dramatic snow covered mountains in the background. And now, we are sailing north in the brilliant sunshine towards tomorrow’s adventure.

Ahhhhh, what an amazing day to be in Svalbard.

–Rikki Swenson, Lindblad Expeditions photo instructor

Travel to Svalbard on WWF’s Land of the Ice Bears expedition scheduled June 15 – 25, 2012.

© Lindblad Expeditions. Reprinted with permission.

Bonobos were first identified as a new species in 1929. © naturepl.com /Karl Ammann / WWF

Observing great apes in the wild is an unforgettable experience, whether it be orangutans swinging between trees, huge mountain gorillas gently caring for their young, or chimpanzees “knuckle walking”. Take our quiz to find out how well you know these primates.

Travel with WWF to see great apes.

The beluga is smaller than most other toothed whales. © Andrey Nekrasov / WWF-Canon

The beluga whale is easily recognizable thanks to its stark white coloring and globular head. Belugas are very social animals, and it’s possible to see pods numbering in the hundreds during a summer trip to Churchill, Canada.

10. Also known as “sea canaries,” belugas are one of the most the most vocal of all whales.

9. The beluga is closely related to the narwhal; they are the only two members of the Monodontidae family.

8. Beluga whales’ dives may last up to 25 minutes and can reach depths of 800 meters.

7. The word beluga comes from the Russian word “bielo” meaning white. However, these white whales are born dark gray. It can take up to eight years before they turn completely white.

6. The beluga is able to swim backwards.

5. The beluga can change the shape of its bulbous forehead, called a “melon”,  by blowing air around its sinuses.

4. In 2009, a captive beluga whale rescued a distressed participant of a free diving competition by pushing her to the surface.

3. Belugas, like other arctic whales, do not have dorsal fins (a dorsal fin causes extra heat loss and would be a major hindrance in the arctic ice), but they do have a tough dorsal ridge. They also have a thick layer of blubber that insulates them from the icy arctic waters.

2. The vertebrae in a beluga’s neck is not fused together, giving it the unusual ability to turn its head up, down and side-to-side.

1. Threats to beluga whales include climate change, hunting, oil and gas development, and industrial and urban pollution. Polar bears and killer whales are known predators of belugas throughout their Arctic range.

Join WWF’s tour Churchill: An Arctic Summer scheduled for July 16 – 24, 2012.