Websailor's Wacky Wildlife World
Created | Updated May 7, 2008
A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!
A Toy Story - The Cuddly Panda
Along with the teddy bear, the Panda has been a favourite toy of children for many years and of course the Giant Panda has been the universally known symbol of the WWF since 1961.
For some twenty five years, conservation work has been going on in China to try and save the Giant Panda from extinction. Much progress has been made, including the establishment of nearly sixty reserves. However, as is often the case with such work, there never seems to be an end in sight, never a time when we can pat ourselves on the back and say with certainty 'we saved that species'.
1,600 pandas sounds quite a lot and that is certainly many more than there were at previous counts. It is worrying though that of those, only 980 pandas are actually protected in reserves. This means that the remainder are at constant risk from various threats: bamboo die-back; habitat loss and to some extent hunting for pelts. Further threat come from increasing agriculture and even the collection of medicinal herbs.
Their main diet consists of various species of bamboo. All are subject to die-back, where a whole species will disappear in a huge area, happening every 15 to a 120 years without warning. This can mean starvation for the animals unless they move to 'pastures new'. This was entirely possible 'once upon a time' but over the last 50 or more years this has become less and less possible. Once roaming the whole of south and eastern China and over the borders into other countries, they are now restricted to several mountain ranges in south western China.
In such a huge country you would think that there was enough space for everyone, but a huge and rapidly growing human population has put tremendous pressure on land and natural resources. Bamboo harvesting (such a useful material), new roads, hydropower installations, and mining: all conspire to deplete their habitat. The pandas have become isolated in 'pockets' with reserves cut off from one another by human settlements, the clearance of bamboo for a variety of uses, and of course the natural die-back already mentioned.
Some corridors have been maintained to connect reserves and the protected habitat has been increased by 100% over the last twenty five years, but some areas are only 1.2km wide, additionally leaving the animals at risk from inbreeding, disease and human interference. More bamboo corridors are urgently needed to give the pandas the freedom to roam and to procreate.
They are peculiarly 'picky' in choice of a mate and are only receptive for about a month each year from mid- March to mid- May which obviously makes reproduction a bit of a lottery. Add to this the fact that they are not sexually mature until they are about five to six years old, and it is easy to see why there are so few of them!
It can also be anything from one to three and a half months before the fertilised embryo is implanted in the mother's uterus. Oddly enough, a very similar biological miracle to that of another black and white mammal - the badger.The latter can carry the embryo around until such time as conditions are right, sometimes a long as twelve months!
After mating, the panda male takes no further part in caring for the female or the cubs, of which there are usually only one or two. Born in late August or early September, often if there is more than one, the second cub will not survive. Part of the work of those assisting in the breeding programme is to ensure that the second one survives too, thus increasing the population still further.
Contrary to general belief they are not entirely herbivorous (vegetarians to you and me!) and have been known to eat meat in the form of other dead animals. It has been found from fossils that they were originally carnivorous. Slow moving, it is unlikely that they actually kill their prey now, but simply take advantage of opportunities presented. They spend half of every day munching various bamboos and other wild plants.
They are quite agile in spite of appearing dumpy and slow, and cubs are often found way up in trees, left by mothers who are off, foraging for food. Much work has been done to teach the locals not to 'rescue' such cubs as the mother usually returns eventually and the cub is quite safe (except perhaps from people).
If a major die-back of bamboo happens in the crucial areas before corridors are established, it could be catastrophic for the panda, and it could happen at any time.
So not only could we lose part or all of the population, but our children might in the future only be able to learn of the panda from books and DVDs or whatever technology is current at the time.
What a shame if such a beloved toy became a symbol of man's failure to save a species. Much can and is being done, but help is needed urgently to protect the pandas and push forward plans for more linked reserves. We must build on the progress made over the last 25 years, and with closer links with China thriving, now is the time to make a real difference.
More detailed information can be found on the WWF-UK
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