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Animals/Fish/Birds/Plants Endangered Species The Giant Panda
The Panda's Chinese name, Da Xiong Mao, means "Great Bear Cat." |
What is the problem? No one in the North America
had ever seen a giant panda before the first one arrived at
a zoo in 1936. One look at that large furry face and those
sad eyes and people just fell in love. In the 1960s, the environmental movement used the panda
as a symbol for international wildlife conservation. But
even its fame has not kept it from near extinction. Once
widespread in China, today there are only around 2,000
giant pandas still alive in the wild. But even these
remaining pandas, in bamboo forests in western China, are in
danger of being wiped out by: Habitat Loss: Pandas love cold, damp mountain
forests where bamboo thrives. Why? Because bamboo is their
favorite food. A panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Unfortunately,
bamboo's a tricky plant. Depending on the species, it can take
10 - 100 years to flower and die. After the plant flowers and
drops its seeds, it takes a year to sprout and grow tall again.
But it can take up to 20 years before it can support a panda population!
Meanwhile the pandas must move to new areas in search of food. In the
past, this wasn't a problem, but today, over 1.3 billion
people live in China. Many farm the lower slopes of the
pandas' mountain home. Pandas' habitat is now only 2,300 square miles
in all of China. Unless the present habitat is
expanded, pandas are in serious trouble. Low Reproductivity: Pandas are very picky about
choosing mates. This is a problem since there are so few of
them to begin with and they live in isolated places. Even
when pandas find the perfect mate, they are slow to
reproduce. While an adult female panda may get pregnant
several times a year, in a two year period, only one of her
cubs will survive. This makes it hard for the panda to
rebound from its low numbers and avoid extinction. Poaching: Giant panda are often the target of
illegal hunting or poaching as their dense fur carries a
high price in illegal markets in the Far East. ("Anyone for
a panda fur coat?" "No way!") Every zoo wants a panda, but is that good? Yes and
no. Yes. Lending giant pandas to zoos are great for
the zoo-going public and important source of revenue for
Chinese captive panda breeding programs (that try to mate
captive pandas so that they will produce cubs). Some folks
believe that if people can see pandas in zoos, they are more
likely to support international efforts to help them survive
in the wild. No. Wild pandas need to be caught (and taken out
of the wild) for captive breeding programs and zoo loans.
Some people believe that exchanging wild pandas for money is
not good and further reduces the wild panda population. Even
though some of the money goes to pay for captive panda
breeding programs, they still don't like the idea.
Additionally, panda's don't often survive for long away from their forests. In 1984, the Giant Panda was listed as an endangered
species under the Endangered Species Act by the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service. This protection prohibits
Giant Pandas from being imported into the United States
except under certain conditions. The Giant Panda is also protected under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a treaty
aimed at controlling illegal trade in endangered animal and
plant species. The giant panda's problems make it a classic endangered
species. It will not survive human impact without human
assistance. We must take strong measures to protect not only
this animal but every species and the habitat they depend
upon. So get on it! 1. Write to President Bush and Dirk Kempthorne,
Secretary of the Interior expressing your concern about the fate
of pandas and your desire that they be saved. Write The President
at: President Bush Email The President: Write The Secretary
at: Dirk Kempthorne Email The
Secretary: 2. Write your United States Senator and Congressional
Representative. Tell them how important pandas are to you
and ask them to support protection for the Giant Panda and
their habitat and to keep other environmental laws
strong. 3. Check out these websites and find out what these
organizations are doing to help save the Giant Panda. Find
out what you can do to work with them!
The
Bear Den - is dedicated to the
following goals: contributing to a comprehensive
understanding of all members of the Bear Family;
allowing visitors to share in a visual and written
celebration of the wonder we experience in the
presence of bears; and supporting the successful
cohabitation of bears and humans upon the
earth. Visit their web site at: Email them at: World
Wildlife Fund is a great source of
information about projects that are protecting all
kinds of endangered wildlife... in wetlands as well
as the rainforests of Asia, Latin America, and
Africa. Write them at: World Wildlife Fund Call them at: (202) 293-4800 Visit their web site:
Defender's
of Wildlife - is dedicated to the
protection of all indigenous wild animals and
plants in their natural communities. Offers free
information on biodiversity and threatened and
endangered animals. They also hold regular
contests. Write them at: Defenders of Wildlife Call them at: (1-800) 385-9712 Visit their web site at: Email them at:
Check out
other Environmental Organizations
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500
Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
1250 24th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
(202) 293-9211 fax
1130 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
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