The life and death of Xiang Xiang

January 25 2006: Four-year-old panda Xiang Xiang at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in China's Sichuan province Photograph: Elizabeth Dalziel/AP

March 21 2006: China has more than 100 pandas in captivity, but before Xiang Xiang could join the estimated 1,600 who live in the mountain forests he had to be taught to build a den, forage for food and growl at aggressors Photograph: Liu Jin/AFP

April 27 2006: When Xiang Xiang was selected for release, he was fitted with a GPS tracking device to help scientists study how artificially raised pandas adapt to the wild Photograph: AP

April 27 2006: Xiang Xiang is carried to his release point close to the Wolong research centre Photograph: AP

April 28 2006: A crowd looks on as Xiang Xiang steps out of his cage. He will have to deal with all the problems wild pandas have to deal with. His trainer, Liu Bin, said he hoped Xiang Xiang 'can survive on its own and will not forget me' Photograph: AP