Pandas are cute, they are lovable, they are, as some would say, the best of 3 worlds all rolled into one. Hence, it is of no surprise that everybody wants to save the pandas. Recently, there have been big waves made by Mei Xiang, a panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo, giving birth to twin cubs. This was done via artificial insemination on the 26th April. If you can recall, Singapore also had its own flurry of "Panda Porn" early this April too, with resident pandas going at it for 40 minutes. With all this action going on in the pen, are we actually progressing in saving these majestic creatures?
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| Pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Visited in 2008- taken by yours truly |
It is said that there are approximately 1,600 wild pandas left in Central China, and an additional 300 pandas kept in various breeding centers in China and zoos around the world. With these low numbers present in the wild, it would seem that increasing the numbers of captive pandas to ensure genetic variability of the pandas remain viable, is the right thing to do. However, one cannot turn a blind eye to the astronomical amount of money pumped into to hosting a panda.
For starters, zoos must built a modern panda exhibit that is up to China's panda experts requirement. Then comes the costs of transportation of the pandas themselves, the yearly costs of transporting enough bamboos for the bears, and not forgetting the token sum paid to China yearly for the loans of the animal. In the cases of US zoos, they have to design a research program that helps too boosts the survival rates of wild pandas. All these easily adds up to millions of dollars, this is not including costs of supporting cubs, where twins are not a rare occurrences.
With the costs of hosting these animals being so high, why do zoos still insist on hosting them? This is because pandas have become the face conservation. Its significant shape can often be seen on the logos of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It garners public support for wildlife bringing to attention other animals of the plight. More importantly, it gives the public a face to gather behind to push for conservation and which animal better to do it then one that could help melt the hearts of young and old alike.
Yet, all the attention focused on breeding of giant pandas and conservation will not be enough to save the them. Remember, the end goal is to increase the wild population of giant pandas. Even as the number of captive pandas continue to climb, we would fall short of the objective if we fail to reintroduce them into the wild. With the Central China's bamboo forest still under the threat of the deforestation, perhaps we should turn our efforts away from breeding them for the time being and ensure the protection and restoration of their natural habitat. After all , what good will it be if the wild is no longer able to support pandas.
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| Current habitat range of the Giant Panda |
I love animals in general, and the panda is adorable. However, I do wish for them to only be found in captivity. Everything in nature comes as a balance, and so we must learn to strike a balance too. Successful breeding of pandas is a step in the right direction but we must ensure they have a place to live after captivity if we are ever going to give the panda a fighting chance out in the wild.
Referrences
C.
Dell'Amore, Aug 2015 National Geographic magazine
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150818-plague-yosemite-campground-cases-science/150820-giant-pandas-national-zoo-animals-science/
Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
C.
Dell'Amore, Aug 2013 National Geographic magazine
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130827-giant-panda-national-zoo-baby-breeding-animals-science/
Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
Chew H. M. Apr 2015 Straits Times newspaper
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pandas-in-the-mood-for-love-kai-kai-and-jia-jia-attempt-to-mate-for-the-first-time-for-40 Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
L.
Warren, Aug 2006 National Geographic magazine
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/07/panda/warren-text
Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
M.
E. Ruane, E. Koh & M. Weil Aug 2015 Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/giant-panda-preparing-to-give-birth-national-zoo-says/2015/08/22/bba0fd2c-4804-11e5-8ab4-c73967a143d3_story.html
Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
Picture
taken from World Wildlife Fund
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/giant_panda/panda/where_panda_lives_habitat/
Last accessed 26 Aug 2015
