Local residents and tourists from abroad gathered yesterday to see a giant panda, mistaken for a burglar three weeks ago, released back into the wild.

Noah Anglin, an American mechanical engineer from California, got up at 4:30 AM yesterday morning to be on time to take a bus from the Wolong Nature Reserve to the Longxi-Hongkou National Natural Preserve in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"I'm going to watch workers from Wolong send a giant panda back to the wild. It's very exciting," the 67-year-old told China Daily.

Having been to Wolong 15 times since his first trip there in 2000, Anglin has adopted two pandas in the reserve, worked as a volunteer, and donated and raised funds.

Anglin was just one of some 500 people who "had never got up as early as yesterday morning" to escort the panda, dubbed "Shenling No 1," on the nearly 3-hour drive from Wolong to the release site. Spectators included panda experts, workers from Wolong, officials from the State Forestry Bureau and Sichuan Provincial Forestry Bureau, journalists and forest policemen.

It was the first time a panda had been released to the wild carrying a global positioning system on her neck.

"Shengling No 1" came into the media spotlight on July 16 when she was found wandering the city of Dujiangyan.

The panda weighed about 60 kilogrammes and was 90 centimeters long. She is between four and five years old, the age at which pandas reach sexual maturity.

"She might have happened to roam the streets of Dujiangyan from the Longxi-Hongkou National Natural Preserve while looking for her 'Mr Right.' Alternatively, she might have been driven away by her mother to start an independent life," said Li Desheng, a panda expert from Wolong.

A check-up found the panda to be suffering from an infection of the gall bladder and anaemia. After round-the-clock intensive care for nearly 20 days, the panda became healthy enough to return to the wild. "She now weighs 63 kilograms," Li said.

To prepare for her return, more than 2,000 farmers in the Longxi-Hongkou National Natural Preserve, which is dedicated to protecting giant pandas and snub-nosed monkeys, spent three days searching an area of 607 hectares to clear away traps left by local hunters.

After being set free at around 11 o'clock yesterday morning, the panda headed straight into the forest, disappearing in less than one minute.

"Thanks to the global positioning system (GPS) on her neck, we'll be able to know her whereabouts, whether she is walking, taking a rest, looking for food or delivering a baby panda," said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong Nature Reserve Administrative Bureau.

(China Daily August 9, 2005)