Pandas In China
Some Useful Information about the Pandas in China
The pandas in China are one of the most recognizable animals in the world, and one of the rarest. While many people want to get a first hand glimpse of this fascinating creature, only four of the US zoos feature them.
Southwest China is the natural habitat for the panda; high in the mountainous regions at altitudes around 5,000 ft. amid forests of evergreen and broadleaf trees as well as underlying bamboo patches. Because of diminishing habitat of the pandas in China, it has become necessary for the Chinese government to establish protected reserves, 12 in total, for the pandas to be able to live undisturbed.
Of the 1,600 pandas yet in existence in the world, only about 11 of them live in zoos in the United States. While they do hold great appeal to visitors to the zoos, they are extremely expensive to have here. The animals are actually on loan from China, with costs of one million dollars per bear considered as the norm. If cubs are born, the cost increases exponentially. These amounts are extremely high when compared to loans of the pandas to India at $25,000 each. The monies spent by the zoos is designated to help pay for conservation costs for pandas in China, but with attendances down, the four zoos are finding that they are losing money.
Pandas in China are mostly found on reserves the government has engineered to help preserve their habitats. A little fewer than 1,000 pandas live on these protected areas, which are largely fragmented across the mountain regions. The largest of these 12 preserves, Wolong National Nature Reserve is east of Mt. Qionglai and covers just less than 500,000 acres. Around 150 of the pandas in China are located here, where the warm, humid climate is favorable for growing bamboo and the many mountains provide the biodiverse habitat that pandas seek. Sixty seven of these pandas are captive; under the protection and research of the China Conservation and Research Center.
In order to protect and ensure the survival of the remaining pandas in China, the World Wildlife Foundation has joined forces with the Chinese government to develop programs that increase knowledge and information about the bears. Since its beginning in 1961, the WWF has utilized the plight of the panda as its symbol to exemplify the organization’s purpose. Initiating programs that allow people to “adopt” pandas, the money that is donated provides funds for conservation programs for all endangered species.
There is a positive outlook on the survival of the remaining pandas in China, but only if continuous efforts are made. Hosting the pandas in US zoos help to inform more and more people of the bear’s plight in China; resulting in more reserves and protection for the pandas in the wild.