Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda ...
By: Austin Seo
Hello, my fellow environmentalists! Today I will be talking about pandas! Maybe you know pandas from your favorite Chinese fast food restaurant, or perhaps you heard about it from your favorite Desiigner song. I know one of my first memorable moments seeing a panda was that very viral video that was posted to originally posted on Youtube in 2006 of the baby panda sneezing and the mother panda jumping up (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4rfQSgkZOE). While reminiscing on the old internet days, not to mention desperately trying to find a topic for this blog post, I noticed that in the background of the video you can clearly see the panda in some type of holding cell. This got me thinking, just why is that?
This brings me to my main topic today: the endangerment of the Ailuropoda melanoleuca. This species is commonly known to people as the Giant Panda. Firstly, let me introduce these lovable animals to everyone out there who has been living under a rock. These black and white patterned bears are a native species and a national treasure in China. They can typically be found around the Yangtze River around the mountains and forest habitats. Pandas typically eat from around 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo everyday, making it an important part of the environments they live in. They eat these bamboo stalks and continue to walk around replanting them with the seeds sustaining the Chinese forests.
The main reason for the endangerment of pandas is deforestation. With humans clearing these groves of bamboos to harvest the material, or make way for urban areas, pandas lose their main habitat and food source. Without access to proper shelter or food, these pandas often perish from starvation. One might wonder, why not move to other forests after their original one is cleared? Well, again, the urbanization of these parts make it hard for pandas to traverse across the city to a new one. This problem has become very extreme as of late. Did you know that pandas actually used to not be native to China, but also Vietnam and Laos. However, with the extreme habitat loss of these pandas, populations in these bordering countries have been wiped out and can only be found in China. In fact today, only 1,864 pandas can be found in the Chinese wild.
Another reason for the decreased population of these animals is the difficulties they face for reproduction. Most bear species give birth to 1-3 cubs at one pregnancy period; however, pandas face a special problem apart from their ursine brethren. Pandas struggle with producing more than one cub due to the lack of nutrients they gain from just eating bamboo. Giving birth is hard enough, but could you imagine giving birth after eating pounds of something like celery everyday? So, what happens if they give birth to two, surely some of these pandas must have enough nutrients to give birth to two. Yes, but even then, the result is quite tragic. Mother pandas are also known to have amongst the lowest nutritional value of any mammalian species. This forces the mother panda to often times abandon all but one to ensure there at least is one cub surviving to adulthood. Secondary factors to decreased population include poaching and difficulty adapting. Pandas have very set digestive systems in the fact that they only eat bamboo, and have trouble adapting to other types of food like raccoons and pigeons. Pandas are also sometimes poached for their panda skins and pelts for hefty prices on black markets. Despite being heavily illegal to hunt in China, this still occurs and is devastating for the panda population.
What are some solutions to this PANDAmonium you ask? Well, come steps have already been taken to protect the population. During the early 1960s, China's State Council called upon the provinces to set aside land for the protection of China’s wildlife. Sichuan province responded quickly with a plan to create reserves to protect Giant Pandas and other animals in the area. Today there are approximately 40 panda reserves across Southwestern China. Some are Nature Reserves providing a safe habitat for wild Giant Pandas, like a National Park Other reserves protect the wild Giant Pandas while having scientific research centers to study their behavior and for breeding captive Giant Pandas. Ultimately, due to the difficult nature to adapt of pandas, these parks are not enough to bring back the panda population to what is what. So, how do you, the reader, propose that we do it, are there any other plausible options we can take? Do you have any opinions on the gradual extinction of pandas? How can we, as Americans, possibly help these endangered animals all the way across the globe.
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda#
https://sciencing.com/pandas-endangered-animals-5176027.html
https://www.pandasinternational.org/panda-reserves/
Hello, my fellow environmentalists! Today I will be talking about pandas! Maybe you know pandas from your favorite Chinese fast food restaurant, or perhaps you heard about it from your favorite Desiigner song. I know one of my first memorable moments seeing a panda was that very viral video that was posted to originally posted on Youtube in 2006 of the baby panda sneezing and the mother panda jumping up (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4rfQSgkZOE). While reminiscing on the old internet days, not to mention desperately trying to find a topic for this blog post, I noticed that in the background of the video you can clearly see the panda in some type of holding cell. This got me thinking, just why is that?
This brings me to my main topic today: the endangerment of the Ailuropoda melanoleuca. This species is commonly known to people as the Giant Panda. Firstly, let me introduce these lovable animals to everyone out there who has been living under a rock. These black and white patterned bears are a native species and a national treasure in China. They can typically be found around the Yangtze River around the mountains and forest habitats. Pandas typically eat from around 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo everyday, making it an important part of the environments they live in. They eat these bamboo stalks and continue to walk around replanting them with the seeds sustaining the Chinese forests.
The main reason for the endangerment of pandas is deforestation. With humans clearing these groves of bamboos to harvest the material, or make way for urban areas, pandas lose their main habitat and food source. Without access to proper shelter or food, these pandas often perish from starvation. One might wonder, why not move to other forests after their original one is cleared? Well, again, the urbanization of these parts make it hard for pandas to traverse across the city to a new one. This problem has become very extreme as of late. Did you know that pandas actually used to not be native to China, but also Vietnam and Laos. However, with the extreme habitat loss of these pandas, populations in these bordering countries have been wiped out and can only be found in China. In fact today, only 1,864 pandas can be found in the Chinese wild.
Another reason for the decreased population of these animals is the difficulties they face for reproduction. Most bear species give birth to 1-3 cubs at one pregnancy period; however, pandas face a special problem apart from their ursine brethren. Pandas struggle with producing more than one cub due to the lack of nutrients they gain from just eating bamboo. Giving birth is hard enough, but could you imagine giving birth after eating pounds of something like celery everyday? So, what happens if they give birth to two, surely some of these pandas must have enough nutrients to give birth to two. Yes, but even then, the result is quite tragic. Mother pandas are also known to have amongst the lowest nutritional value of any mammalian species. This forces the mother panda to often times abandon all but one to ensure there at least is one cub surviving to adulthood. Secondary factors to decreased population include poaching and difficulty adapting. Pandas have very set digestive systems in the fact that they only eat bamboo, and have trouble adapting to other types of food like raccoons and pigeons. Pandas are also sometimes poached for their panda skins and pelts for hefty prices on black markets. Despite being heavily illegal to hunt in China, this still occurs and is devastating for the panda population.
What are some solutions to this PANDAmonium you ask? Well, come steps have already been taken to protect the population. During the early 1960s, China's State Council called upon the provinces to set aside land for the protection of China’s wildlife. Sichuan province responded quickly with a plan to create reserves to protect Giant Pandas and other animals in the area. Today there are approximately 40 panda reserves across Southwestern China. Some are Nature Reserves providing a safe habitat for wild Giant Pandas, like a National Park Other reserves protect the wild Giant Pandas while having scientific research centers to study their behavior and for breeding captive Giant Pandas. Ultimately, due to the difficult nature to adapt of pandas, these parks are not enough to bring back the panda population to what is what. So, how do you, the reader, propose that we do it, are there any other plausible options we can take? Do you have any opinions on the gradual extinction of pandas? How can we, as Americans, possibly help these endangered animals all the way across the globe.
https://sciencing.com/pandas-endangered-animals-5176027.html
https://www.pandasinternational.org/panda-reserves/
Comments
- Abby Jung
-Adam Ghanem