“My idol is a national treasure”: Fandom, idolization, and the multispecies ethnography of giant pandas

The question.

What happens when an endangered species becomes a national symbol, a tourist attraction, a soft-power emblem, and an internet star — all at once? China's giant pandas occupy a unique position at the intersection of conservation biology, state ritual, and global popular culture. This project follows the everyday lives of pandas and the people around them: keepers, scientists, fans, photographers, livestreamers, and tourists. Drawing on multispecies ethnography and fandom theory, it asks how devotion travels — from the studbook to the screen, from the bamboo enclosure to the algorithmic feed, from the keeper's notebook to the fan's spreadsheet.

"The pandas are watching us watch them. And so, increasingly, are millions of fans."

Field video

Pandas and their fans — opens in SharePoint ↗

What we're finding.

Findings forthcoming. See related publications below.