The Pitiao River flows through the Sichuan Province, China.

The research team arrives at the entrance to the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China.

Trucks in Wolong are inspected to make sure people aren't poaching or hauling lumber away illegally.

A panda enjoys bamboo at the Wolong Nature Reserve.

Hemin Zhang, director of the China Giant Panda Research Center, and MSU scientist Jack Liu with a young panda at the panda breeding center.

Kevin Epling and Sue Nichols get up-close-and-personal with a couple of young pandas.

The research team hikes up the rugged terrain at the Wolong Nature Reserve.

Researchers examine droppings from pandas, which provide essential clues to the panda's nutritional information, where it has been and even bite length.

Graduate student Scott Bearer shows off his work with the Global Positioning System, striving to merge data the team already collected from satellites which maps suitable panda real estate with what actually is on the ground for a more complete picture.

Professor Jack Liu peers into a rare den that once protected panda mothers and their cubs at the top of a mountain in Wolong. The hope is to establish more mature-growth forest that can harbor pandas.

Graduate student Guangming He interviews members of the Chen family about changes they are experiencing as governmental policy changes to protect panda habitat.

The matriarch of the Chen family hugs one of the family's youngest members, 4-year-old Xian Yu (which means fragrant diamond).