Pandas

Why are pandas becoming extinct? What is being done to help them? What do we need to know to save them? These are all question we need answered in order to save the panda.

Pandas are becoming extinct for a couple of reasons. First off, agriculture has invaded any low altitude part of their habitat. Next, logging has destroyed the trees that give bamboo the shade it needs in order to grow. Another reason is that illegal poaching, (before it was banned) took its toll on their population drop. Lastly, because of their slow breeding process, (Only being able to have a baby at best every other year) it has been hard to boost their population numbers.

There are a couple things that people are doing to save the panda population. An organization called the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) is doubling the amount of bamboo forests by planting more bamboo trees. This plan will cost around $63.5 million dollars. The organization of WWF is also trying to educate the local people on pandas so that they can help too. Another thing is that China has set up patrols in some of the panda ranges to prevent illegal poaching and exporting. Lastly, there are many panda reserves and zoos that are trying to help save the panda population, such as Wolong National Natural Reserve.

There are a lot of things to know about pandas, but what we need to know to save them is a different story. Some things we might need to know are that they are born very small, blind and helpless and a mother can only take care of 1 panda at a time. (This is why, unfortunately if there are 2 cubs, 1 will not survive.) We might need to know that pandas do not hibernate. If well taken care of, a panda can live up to 35 years old. Once a panda is 1 year old, it should be adept at climbing trees to protect itself from predators.

A pandas diet is 99% bamboo. They eat 20-45 pounds of it each day and spend about 10-16 hours it every day! The other 1% is made up of different grasses and (rarely) small rodents or musk deer fawns.

There are about 1,600 pandas left in the world today. They used to exist over a much wider range than the 6 they have left today. A range is basically a couple of mountains. They now are only found in the mountains of central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. The last thing we might need to know is that they do not hibernate so therefore, they do not have a specific home. They move up and down the mountains based on the temperature. So if you are looking for a panda during the summer, you might want to look at a higher altitude.

Pandas are on the endangered list, and we need to help them. What will you do to help these adorable amazing creatures?