The panda history
Once the Giant Panda roamed mountain lowlands from Myanmar through northern Viet Nam and much of eastern and southern China; but farming, development and clear-cutting have destroyed the bamboo forests that make up their natural habitat.
More than 50 per cent of these forests have been lost in the past few decades alone - and they are not easily replaced. Bamboo flowers only every 80 to 100 years, and takes 20 years to grow enough to sustain a panda population.
Then in the 1980s things got worse. Much of China's bamboo forests died out suddenly and inexplicably and over 150 pandas starved to death. This loss of habitat and encroaching human settlement forced pandas to retreat higher into the mountains where they are isolated and unable to travel to bamboo groves that can still sustain them.
Scientists don't know if the Giant Panda's distinctive black and white markings are camouflage suited to their mountain homes or if it allows the solitary animals to recognize one another. Unfortunately, their distinctive fur also makes them attractive prey for poachers. And though they are protected in reserves, pandas are sometimes killed in illegal traps intended for antelopes and deer.
Zoos and breeding centres are studying the habits of the solitary animal, hoping to encourage breeding but it is not easy. Even though pandas have low reproductive rates and high infant mortality in the wild, researchers report that they do not share the problems of those in captivity. In the natural state, all adult females and males appear to be involved in breeding compared to only 28 per cent of those in captivity.
Isolated patches of panda habitat will not work. Conservationists say it is necessary to strengthen current panda reserves and establish viable corridors between them. China is making every effort to ensure the continuation of the panda species. Since 1963, the government has proclaimed 13 protective preserves where bamboo flourishes in six isolated mountain ranges in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansuin provinces of western China.
More than 50 per cent of these forests have been lost in the past few decades alone - and they are not easily replaced. Bamboo flowers only every 80 to 100 years, and takes 20 years to grow enough to sustain a panda population.
Then in the 1980s things got worse. Much of China's bamboo forests died out suddenly and inexplicably and over 150 pandas starved to death. This loss of habitat and encroaching human settlement forced pandas to retreat higher into the mountains where they are isolated and unable to travel to bamboo groves that can still sustain them.
Scientists don't know if the Giant Panda's distinctive black and white markings are camouflage suited to their mountain homes or if it allows the solitary animals to recognize one another. Unfortunately, their distinctive fur also makes them attractive prey for poachers. And though they are protected in reserves, pandas are sometimes killed in illegal traps intended for antelopes and deer.
Zoos and breeding centres are studying the habits of the solitary animal, hoping to encourage breeding but it is not easy. Even though pandas have low reproductive rates and high infant mortality in the wild, researchers report that they do not share the problems of those in captivity. In the natural state, all adult females and males appear to be involved in breeding compared to only 28 per cent of those in captivity.
Isolated patches of panda habitat will not work. Conservationists say it is necessary to strengthen current panda reserves and establish viable corridors between them. China is making every effort to ensure the continuation of the panda species. Since 1963, the government has proclaimed 13 protective preserves where bamboo flourishes in six isolated mountain ranges in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansuin provinces of western China.