My mandies never "bonded" with me especially, but they know me as their food person and are usually calm in my presence and seem to trust me. They sure don't like strangers tho! My sister was visiting over the summer and wanted to see them in real life, so we SLOWLY and QUIETLY entered their enclosure - suddenly, they all freaked out and were flying into walls and plants, and were flailing all over the place - so we high tailed it out of there before they hurt themselves! They seemed very nervous for several days after that incident - and needless to say, I've since made it my policy to never take visitors in to see them.
But thats the difference between wild species and domestic breeds - mandarins tend to be very skittish even if they're hand raised. Personally, I would never keep them unless I could put them in a covered/planted enclosure - mine live in a 24' x 14' greenhouse, but others have theirs in pens made of wood and wire and/or netting. If you turn them out on open water, they may not stick around for very long, and cages are just wrong for them, IMO.
Despite their wild tendancies, I LOVE them. Their beauty is unsurpassed, and the way they play and interact with each other is a sight to behold. When I work in the greenhouse, they are very curious and as long as I don't make any fast moves, they love to get into the middle of whatever I'm doing - and if I stand still long enough, they will get close enough to eat out of my hand. Its a "look but don't touch" type relationship tho.
