Why is the panda on the verge of extinction?

What is the panda? According to Wikipedia, The panda is known as panda bear or the giant panda to distinguish it from the unrelated red panda. It is a bear native to south central China which wears black and white fur. They mostly live in a few mountain ranges in central China. As is known to all, Sichuan Province in China is the famous hometown to the panda. The panda mainly eats bamboo but sometimes eat other grasses, wild tubers or even meat. With the deterioration of the living shelters and the killing of human beings, the number of the panda decreases rapidly. Now it is a conservation reliant endangered species. Now, we can hardly see wild pandas in the mountains. The majority of the pandas is in the protective zones with typical measures and treatment.

Why is the number of the panda so small? It is a common sense that the panda evolves from the ancient creatures. So from their living styles and habitus, we can learn a lot about the creatures’ evolvement. As an animal, the panda has been recognized as living fossil of the creatures. But it is a pity to see that the number of the panda is decreasing rapidly. From some researches, we may find some main factors which contribute to the rapid decrease in the number of the panda. (McKinney, Michael L, 498-512) Firstly, the abuse and killing of the panda is the main reason. The human beings hunt for the pandas with the purpose of getting their fur just like hunting for sharks for their fins. From some researches, the numbers of the panda was decreasing by 60% due to human beings’ killing until 1960s. When the government has noticed the rapid change in the number of the panda, some measures have been taken to protect the endangered animals. Besides this, the second reason is the lower potentia generandi of the panda. (Loucks, Colby J, 558-559) Nowadays, we may hardly see the wild panda with the majority of it in the protective zones. Why? I think the lower potentia generandi is the key point to the small scale of the panda. It is harder for the panda to give birth to new lives by the female panda. So what we often see on TV or online appears in the research center of the panda. What’s more, I think, the change of the environment of the living shelter of the panda makes the panda become much harder to live by themselves in the wild places. With the development of the economy, the human beings pay more attention to the economic interest rather than the environment. More pollution is discharged into nature which leads to the death of many biological creatures. Not only the plants are facing the death caused by the pollution, but also many animals included the panda are suffering from it. Based on these reasons, the number of the panda is so small, thus it is on the verge of extinction.

After we talk about the reasons which cause the rapid decrease in the number of the panda, we continue to explore the reason why the giant panda only appears in China. It may confuse many readers that why the giant panda cannot appear in other countries. It is an interesting question. Schaller and George B in their research, point out that the feeding ecology of giant pandas makes the panda easier to live in China. The panda as an evolutionary animal once lived in many places in the world. Due to the change with respect to the climate and the crust of the earth, many creatures were extinct. At the same time, the panda becomes more used to the bamboo especially to the fargesia. As is known to all, to some degree, the bamboo is the particular plant in China. We may hardly see it in other countries. If we can, we cannot see large scale of the bamboo just like in China. So I think the feeding ecology contributes to the appearance of the panda in China. On top of it, the mild climate in China is another factor. The climate in the mountain especially in Sichuan Province of China provides a good natural condition for the panda to reproduce their generation. So we may see them more in China.

In the text above, I have pointed out that the panda become used to the bamboo. But it is contradictory to find that the panda belongs to carnivorous animals. Is it what causes the change in eating? Some researchers pointed out that natural selection decides the evolutionary of the panda in appetite. (Jin, Ke, 2) The panda used to eat meat all the times, but with the change of the living shelter, it’s hard for the panda to hunt for more food consist of meat. So the panda was compelled to eat what appears around them. At that time in China, the bamboo was easier to find in the shelter of the panda. Without other food, the panda became used to eat bamboo. But it cannot declare that the panda never eat other food. As is known to all, the panda also eats wild tubers. So if you see the panda eats some animals or some plants, it may be accepted by you.

Besides the topic we have talked about above, the important thing we need to pay more attention to is the protection of the panda. The giant panda is an endangered species, threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity. Its range is currently confined to a small portion on the western edge of its historical range. So it is urgent for us to take some steps to protect them. China as the hometown to the panda, has published many laws to protect the panda. Anyone who hunts for the panda or hurts the panda will be punished severely. What’s more, some famous protective zones for the panda are established including Wolong National Nature Reserve. The Wolong National Nature Reserve was set up by the PRC government in 1958 to save the declining panda population. We may often see some new birth in the reserve. Moreover, the government throws many funds and researches into the protection of the panda including the research on the birth of the panda. To overcome the low birth of the panda, the relevant scientists devote many efforts to do research on it. And finally they get some remarkable breakthrough in this question. So we often see some panda parents with their babies appear online. What’s more, in order to deal with the pollution and destruction of the natural habitat of the panda, in the 1990s, however, several laws (including gun control and the removal of resident humans from the reserves) helped their chances of survival. The number of wild pandas has started to increase in some areas with these renewed efforts and improved conservation methods, though they still are classified as a rare species. The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest Sichuan province and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006. In 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global nonprofit that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "On the Trail of Giant Panda". This program, based in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, allows volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity, and help them adapt to life in the wild, so that they may breed, and live longer and healthier lives. At the same time, we may often see that some pandas from China are sent abroad. They are seen as the bridge connecting China with the other. The reason why the government of China does it is to get more attention from the world with the purpose of protecting the panda. If more people like this rare animal, they may give more attention to the development of the scale of the panda. Meanwhile, more support will be given to the protection of the panda. I think it is a good thing. But we may feel it pity and painful to find that some pandas sent abroad are dead due to illness. We want more attention and more care to be given to the panda. They are our friend. Without them, we may lose much happiness during our life.

The panda is not only an animal, but also our friend. We may have no chance to participate in the research on the panda. We may also have no much time to devote ourselves into the protection of the panda. But we can give our some care to the development of the protection of the panda. We can struggle with the criminal events which give threaten to the protection of the panda. We can cooperate with each other to give some advice on the protection of the panda.
We feel so painful to hear that the panda is on the verge of extinction. We often see ourselves as children with our babies to take photos with the panda in some safe distance with the consideration of the safety of the panda. Our babies often feel happy and excited to see their friends. We don’t want lose this peaceful and nice scene. We are the leader of the world, but we are not the sole creature of the world. What we need to do is to get along well with them. We can breathe the fresh air with the panda with the efforts to protect the shelter environment. We can share our happiness with the panda by watching them play. The protection laws are always a restraint to the public. It is our duty but also the responsibility to protect them. Protecting the panda is to protect our interest in the balanced nature.

Cited Works
McKinney, Michael L. "Extinction vulnerability and selectivity: combining ecological and paleontological views." Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics (1997): 495-516.
Loucks, Colby J., et al. "The giant pandas of the Qinling Mountains, China: a case study in designing conservation landscapes for elevational migrants." Conservation Biology 17.2 (2003): 558-565.
Schaller, George B., et al. "The feeding ecology of giant pandas and Asiatic black bears in the Tangjiahe Reserve, China." Carnivore behavior, ecology, and evolution. Springer US, 1989. 212-241.
Jin, Ke, et al. "Why does the giant panda eat bamboo? A comparative analysis of appetite-reward-related genes among mammals." PloS one 6.7 (2011): e22602.


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