Sarah Bexell first went to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in 1999 and returns for long spells every year to observe pandas at close quarters. She Yi / for China Daily

According to Bexell they are not in the least bit indolent, they just need ample rest after expending tremendous amounts of energy on processing their favorite bamboo food. Hungry pandas have to chomp through the outer layer of bamboo before they can reach the softer inner section.

Images of pandas foraging in the wild, or resting high in the trees, are scattered liberally throughout Giant Pandas, Born Survivors. Many were taken by Zhang, who has a vast library of images and had an earlier best-seller with the book Watch Me Grow, also a collaboration with Bexell, documenting the life of a giant panda, Jing Jing, from birth.

When Bexell is asked to take a big-picture view of the state of the planet, it is not an optimistic image. The vegan scientist despairs at the greed and avarice that has led to wholesale decimation of forests and the pollution of rivers, lakes and oceans.

"Our population is too big and our consumption habits are quite frankly unethical, especially in developed countries," she says. "The more we take, and the more we have babies, we are taking away the chances of survival for every other species.

"Once we eat everything, we die too."

By Mark Graham (China Daily)