The world's only white giant panda was captured on an infrared-triggered camera alongside a mother panda and her cub in southern China.

Video filmed at Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province on February 28, shows a mother panda and her cub resting in a tree hollow and the white giant panda approached them gradually.

However, the mother panda sensed its presence and emitted a short warning sound. Without hesitation, the brave cub rushed towards the white giant panda while it retreated and made "baa baa baa" sounds, indicating its desire for closeness.

Throughout the encounter, the mother panda remained calm and did not step out of the tree hollow.

After a while, the mother and cub left the hollow, and the white giant panda returned, carefully sniffing every spot where the mother panda had been.

Regarding the footage, Wei Rongping, a professor-level senior engineer at the China Giant Panda Conservation Research Center, said: “Normally, when an adult giant panda approaches or invades a mother panda with cubs, she would exhibit strong aggressiveness, rushing forward, roaring, and even engaging in physical fights. This mother panda's extremely 'calm' behavior does not conform to the general pattern. There is a possibility that this mother panda is the mother of the white giant panda. She might have recognised the scent of her cub, felt secure, and thus displayed such peacefulness."

Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University's School of Life Sciences, stated, "Our field investigation has been tracking this white giant panda since it was a small cub until now. We found that it not only survived healthily but also had normal communication and interactions with other wild giant pandas in the area. This suggests that the simple 'albinism' mutation has not affected its survival for the time being.”

The video was provided by local media with permission.

5月27日，据四川卧龙国家级自然保护区管理局消息，在卧龙海拔2300多米的一台红外触发相机首次记录了全球唯一的白色大熊猫与一对大熊猫母子同框的影像资料，且母熊猫极有可能是白色大熊猫的妈妈。
画面拍摄于今年2月底，一对大熊猫母子在一处树洞休息，白色大熊猫渐渐地向它们靠近，熊猫妈妈首先察觉，发出一声极短的警示，胆大的熊猫幼崽便毫不犹豫扑了上去，白色大熊猫边向后撤退边发出“咩咩咩”的叫声，向它们示意想要亲近，熊猫妈妈全程保持“淡定”未踏出树洞半步。一段时间后，熊猫母子离开树洞，白色大熊猫又回到树洞前，仔细嗅闻熊猫妈妈曾待过的每一处地方。
针对这些影像，中国大熊猫保护研究中心教授级高级工程师魏荣平说：“画面中的幼崽约1到2岁，白色大熊猫的体型已接近成年个体大小。2月底的卧龙已进入野生大熊猫发情季，这时遇见成年大熊猫靠近或入侵，一般带崽的母熊猫会表现出很强的攻击性，会冲上前激烈地吼叫驱逐，甚至对其大打出手。这只母熊猫表现得极其‘淡定’，不太符合一般规律。有一种可能，这只母熊猫是白色大熊猫的妈妈，妈妈闻出了孩子的气味，感觉到安全，才会表现得如此平和。”
四川卧龙国家级自然保护区教授级高级工程师刘明冲介绍，2019年4月，红外相机首次拍到了当时还是幼崽的白色大熊猫图片，推断当时年龄在两岁到三岁左右。在此后保护区工作人员对它进行了长达四年的追踪监测，收集了近1000份有效监测数据，记录了这只白色大熊猫的多段活动影像，包括正面全身像。值得一提的是，在同样点位的红外相机，记录到了一只正常毛色的大熊猫，两者之间形成了鲜明的外形对比。今年4月16日，在海拔2500米的另一台红外触发相机也记录到白色大熊猫与另一只野生大熊猫疑似交配打斗的罕见画面。
北京大学生命科学学院研究员李晟表示：“我们的野外调查从这只白色大熊猫还是一个小崽的阶段一直追踪到现在，发现它不仅健康地存活了下来，而且还与这片区域内其他的野生大熊猫个体有着正常的交流和互动，由此看来单纯的‘白化’突变暂时未影响到它的生存。今年它应该已经进入性成熟阶段，红外相机记录到它在繁殖期有着正常的求偶表现，表明它的生长发育基本健康。从侧面也说明卧龙的大熊猫栖息地质量特别高，有充足的食物来源，生物多样性保护成效显著。”
“在经过无数次研判路线、布设和调整红外相机位点，通过四年的监测，基本掌握了这只白色大熊猫的活动规律。”四川卧龙白色大熊猫保护研究项目执行人谭迎春介绍，白色大熊猫在春季发情期出现的频次比其他季节要高得多，研究人员现在也在从微观入手对它进行更系统的研究，收集它的粪便和毛发，通过DNA检测来进一步分析这只白色大熊猫的相关生物学信息。