Endangered Species
An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. Extinction is when an animal no longer exists. Many countries have laws offering special protection to these species (forbidding hunting, banning their habitats from development, etc.) to prevent this.
The main reason an animal becomes endangered is because of destruction of their natural habitat, plus hunting or poaching. With the pandas there are additional difficulties with mating and problems with their food source, bamboo dying off.
The results of a new comprehensive survey of the giant panda in the wild indicate there are 1,600 animals left in the wild. This number is higher than previous estimates, due to improved census methods and the fact that the study was very thorough. Wild pandas are still one of the most seriously endangered species in the world.
Pandas were classified as an endangered species in the 1980’s, and are on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Animals. The United States’ Endangered Species Act protects the giant pandas, as does the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Education
Education regarding the status of the pandas is extremely important around the world.
Conservation
In the 1940s the Chinese government began conservation efforts to protect the giant pandas. Then in 1963, the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China was established. Today there are a total of 40 panda reserves, across Southwestern China. The China Conservation and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda at Wolong is located on the Pi Tiao River, southeast of the Qionglai Mountains. The reserve is 20 hectors or 50 acres.
Captive breeding
In 1986, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at Wolong had the first successful captive panda birth. Today, it is the premier panda breeding facility in the world and also the largest. Captive births at the Wolong Center average between 6 to 11 per year. There are numerous outdoor semi natural enclosures, a hospital and a nursery.
The nursery at the Wolong Center is staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week, to care for the newborn pandas, which require feeding every three to four hours. Extensive diaries are kept on each animal. The ratio of staff is one caretaker for every two pandas. Research
There is research being doing both in China and other parts of the world on panda mating, habitat, digestion, behavior, and all other aspects of their being.
Current estimate of 1600 pandas
Efforts to save the endangered panda appear to be helping in the short term. The newest population study on wild pandas does show an increase over previous counts.
The Chinese government has released the results of the most comprehensive survey of giant pandas ever. It found that there were around 1,600 pandas left in the wild, 40% more than previous figures. But, the numbers may reflect the fact that the survey was more thorough, rather than a genuine recovery in numbers, so an actual increase in pandas is uncertain, but possible. Even at 1600, their survival is still in extreme peril.
Captive Breeding/Reintroduction
The success of the captive breeding program is allowing the reintroduction of captive-born pandas back into the wild to proceed.
Outlook
The Outlook is guardedly optimistic, still at a critical point. The future of the panda is interwoven with the Chinese people and the corporate citizenship of companies moving into the Chinese market. New opportunities for the Chinese workforce in manufacturing, new advances in environmentally responsible farming, the introduction of high yield crops to reduce logging, and population control efforts will all help the pandas. The outlook for the giant pandas is linked to aggressive conservation efforts as well as successful captive breeding. Biological diversity and sustainability are essential.
Support for Panda Reserves
Save the Panda Foundation is a worldwide a non-profit foundation devoted to Saving the Giant Panda. These rare and magnificent animals are truly a treasure to all who care about wild animals and endangered species.
Save the Panda Foundation was created in 2008 to assist the Chinese Veterinarians with their very limited medical equipment and funds. This magnificent and charming species captures the interest of all who fear for their survival. Save the Panda Foundation provides veterinary and medical equipment and supplies to the Panda Reserves, supports the breeding programs and is assisting in the reintroduction of captive born pandas into the wild.
This is difficult to put into words, but we will attempt to offer several answers.
First, pandas have survived for centuries, even surviving the ice age, so it would tragic if they became extinct now during our lifetime - known only through books and museums.
Future generations deserve to see and know pandas. Pandas are one of the wonders of the animal kingdom and deserve their rightful place in the natural world.
Pandas are one of nature’s creatures and all of nature’s creatures are precious and should be protected.
We know that the decline of the panda is not part of the “natural process”, but due to habitat destruction and other factors. Since humans are responsible for their decline, humans should be conscientious to save them.
Extinction is Forever. Endangered still means we have time. What we do now will decide their fate.
Congress even addressed this question in the preamble to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, recognizing that endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants "are of aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people." In this statement, Congress was summarizing a number of convincing arguments advanced by scientists, conservationists, and others who are greatly concerned by the disappearance of unique creatures.
