Yesterday I mentioned what I thought was an amusing but crude hoax: a story out of Chengdu about panda-handlers who dressed up as pandas to avoid spooking little cubs. Eg:
Turns out, it's real. I have received several confirmations, of which the most categorical is this:
>>I can promise you that the researchers really have Panda suits- I have seen them as we share space with these dedicated folks in Wolong.I should have had more faith in the realm of the possible in China. Thanks to all for clarifications. And, here's a slide show of what Wolong looked like before the earthquake. Plus, some use of pandas as political artwork in the Beijing Metro, here.Matthew ChapaPanda MountainEcotourism Directorwww.pandamountain.org <<
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James Fallows is a staff writer for The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States and once worked as President Carter's chief speechwriter. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, are the authors of the 2018 book Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, which was a national best seller and is the basis of a forthcoming HBO documentary.