- Donate to a conservation organization. The most immediate way to help giant pandas is by giving a gift to a protective organization like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) or ...
- Sponsor or "adopt" a panda. Various organizations offer these programs. You get gifts for paying a certain amount of money, such as $50 USD, to sponsor a panda.
- Buy panda-related merchandise from conservation organizations. Organizations like the WWF, Pandas International, and zoos sell panda gifts and gear.
- Purchase carbon offsets to protect the environment. Climate change is a big threat to panda habitats, so purchasing Gold Standard carbon credits helps.
- Volunteer at a panda reserve in China. Set up a volunteer opportunity by contacting a conservation organization or a panda center.
- increasing the area of panda habitat under legal protection.
- creating green corridors to link isolated pandas.
- patrolling against poaching, illegal logging, and encroachment.
- building local capacities for nature reserve management.
- continuing research and monitoring.
How can you help protect giant pandas?
Because of animal conservation efforts, giant pandas have begun to increase in number in China. You can help protect them by donating your time or money to a conservation organization. If this isn't possible for you, protecting your environment and spreading conservation news still helps a lot.
Why are pandas important to the ecosystem?
Pandas play an important role in the forest ecosystem where they live. Seeds and plant matter collects on their fur, which is then deposited as they move throughout their habitat. They also climb trees and swim, which further helps disperse the seeds.
What has been the success of panda conservation?
The success of panda conservation in recent years owes much to the dedication and determination of Chinese and international researchers working with the governments, universities and conservations organisations, such as WWF.
Is more land enough to save the giant panda?
But simply providing more land for pandas is not enough. Only by effectively addressing the needs of local people and sustainably enhancing their livelihoods can we hope to guarantee the long term survival of the giant panda.
Where do pandas live?
Wild giant pandas inhabit a mountainous area in southwest China including Gansu, Shaanxi, and Sichuan provinces. In the past they roamed a much larger area that included the lowlands, but human development drove them into the mountains and continues to threaten the wild population on unprotected lands. Wild giant pandas currently live only in the dense bamboo underbrush of the mountain forests.
How much bamboo do pandas eat?
Wild pandas eat mostly bamboo with some other grasses and an occasional small animal for variety. On average, an adult panda eats 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo every day and spends up to 16 hours a day finding and eating food. Pandas eat sitting upright, holding bamboo stalks between their paws.
How long does it take for a panda to give birth?
If two pandas mate successfully, the gestation period is 95 to 160 days. Pandas sometimes give birth to two cubs, but usually only one survives.
How often do pandas ovulate?
They ovulate only once a year, in the spring, and only for a few days. Those few days are the only opportunity for a female panda to conceive. Like other species of bear, the giant panda does not live in a pack--it is a solitary, territorial animal.
Why did the Chinese government ban logging?
The Chinese government banned logging in 1998 to stop deforestation and created a number of protected areas where no development is allowed. But half of the wild panda population still lives outside protected areas, and 300,000 humans live in unprotected natural panda habitats.
Is a poacher a danger to pandas?
Poachers also pose a constant danger to wild pandas. The rare and beautiful pelt of the giant panda is highly prized on the black market. Giant Panda Breeding. In addition to human issues, the slow breeding cycle of the giant panda poses a natural problem.
Do pandas breed outside of their natural habitat?
Pandas do not breed well outside their natural habitats. Only six females born in captivity have successfully birthed cubs.
What is the biggest threat to the Red Panda?
The biggest threat to the red panda is deforestation. The loss of their nesting areas has greatly reduced their habitat and left them vulnerable to predators
How many red pandas are there in the world?
This small, bamboo-loving mammal is critically endangered, with anywhere from 2,500 – 10,000 estimated to be remaining today. Inhabitants of temperate forests and known for their brightly colored pelt, red pandas contribute to the health of the ecosystems they live in, and are the last remaining species in their taxonomic family known to man.
When is Red Panda Day?
After National Wildlife Day on September 4th, International Red Panda Day comes on September 18th! Here are some things you can do to help save the red pandas:
Can red pandas be restored?
Through our efforts, we can resume the growth of the red panda population, and help restore the lands they call home. Together we can help stop the extinction of earth’s beloved mammals!
Why is it important to monitor pandas?
Ongoing research and monitoring of pandas and their fragile habitat will be vital to ensuring that the conservation successes of the past few decades are not undermined. And that giant panda numbers continue to recover.
What are the threats to pandas?
But pandas still face a number of threats, particularly habitat loss and fragmentation, so extra efforts are needed to ensure that they continue to survive and thrive. Creating new reserves and linking up existing panda populations are key to the species' future.
Why are bamboo corridors important to the Chinese?
The Chinese government, in partnership with WWF, has also developed bamboo corridors to link pockets of forest, allowing the pandas within them to move to new areas, find more food and meet more potential breeding mates.
What are some ways to help villages?
Providing villages with alternative energy sources, such as wood-saving stoves and bio-gas from pig manure, so people can cook and stay warm while harvesting less wood from the forests;
How much bamboo do pandas eat?
Bamboo makes up some 99% of their diet, without which they are likely to starve. Pandas must eat 12kg (26 lbs) to 38kg worth of bamboo each day to maintain their energy needs.
What percentage of pandas eat bamboo?
image copyright. Getty Images. image caption. Bamboo makes up for 99% of a panda's diet. The bears, China's national icon, were once widespread throughout southern and eastern China but, due to expanding human populations and development, are now limited to areas that still contain bamboo forests.
Why did the number of pandas drop in the 1980s?
A loss of habitats was what caused the number of pandas to drop to just over 1,200 in the 1980s, according to Mr Hilton-Taylor. "You need to get the bamboo back and slowly the numbers will start to creep back," he said. image copyright. Getty Images.
How many pandas are there in the world?
There are now an estimated total of 2,060 pandas, of which 1,864 are adults - a number which has seen their status changed from "endangered" to "vulnerable", on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List. "It's all about restoring the habitats," Craig Hilton-Taylor, Head of the IUCN Red List, told the BBC.
What is the goal of captive breeding?
The eventual goal of most captive-breeding programmes is to let the animals back into the wild eventually.
Can pandas be inseminated?
Many scientific facilities now use artificial insemination methods to breed pandas. image copyright. Getty Images. image caption. But many of these pandas are used to a life in captivity, and are unable to return back into the wild. "Having captive animals is like an insurance policy," said Mr Hilton-Taylor.
Did Jackie Chan have pandamonium?
image caption. Even film star Jackie Chan's got a bad case of pandamonium. "A happy coincidence of their natural adaptations result in what humans perceive as cute, and a cute and cuddly face is a whole lot easier to love," said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, Chief Life Sciences Officer and Deputy CEO of the Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
How do pandas help the forest?
Pandas play an important role in the forest ecosystem where they live. Seeds and plant matter collects on their fur, which is then deposited as they move throughout their habitat. They also climb trees and swim, which further helps disperse the seeds.
Where are pandas protected?
Protecting Panda Habitat Fewer than 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild—mostly in China's Sichuan Province, where a new preserve protects their habitat.
How much bamboo do pandas eat?
Depending mainly on a diet of bamboo, giant pandas live in western China. They eat dozens of pounds of bamboo per day over about 12 hours of feeding, which accounts for their incredible growth from less than a pound at birth to over 200 pounds at the age of maturity.
What is the Conservancy doing?
The Conservancy and others are also working to tie nearby villages into a sustainable economy so people won’t have to venture into the reserves to hunt, fish or gather resources. To start, TNC is helping jump-start a guesthouse and an agriculture program that connects farmers to high-end markets for sustainable food products. It has already generated $300,000 through catalog orders for things like honey, eggs, chickens, sausage and persimmons.
How many cubs do pandas have?
Pandas typically give birth to two cubs at a time, but usually, only one cub will survive.
How many nature reserves does China have?
The Chinese government has established more than 2,500 nature reserves throughout the country, but most aren’t well funded or actively managed. And, until recently, China’s strict landownership laws made it difficult for non-governmental organizations to play a significant role in land protection.
Do pandas eat bamboo?
Even though Giant pandas have a carnivore's digestive system, they've evolved to eat bamboo.
What is nature reserve protection?
Nature reserve protection to ensure that the reserve borders are patrolled and no illegal hunting or logging takes place inside them. Community development projects such as providing wood saving stoves to limit the impact of wood-fuel harvesting on the panda's forests.
Is panda tourism on the rise?
Panda tourism is on the rise. The Chinese government and WWF are now working on ways to reduce the impact of tourism on panda habitats, by promoting eco-tourism. For more information on the best way to limit your impact, read our travel smart tips.
Where do giant pandas learn survival?
Before the release, the captive giant pandas need to receive more survival training together with their mothers at Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan. They learn from basic walking and climbing trees to fight and defense skills and identify and escape enemies like leopards.
Why did pandas go extinct?
Many species on Earth went extinct because of environmental change, evolutionary problems, habitat loss, or humans.
How many pandas are there in Xiaoxiang?
The wild panda population at the Xiaoxiang Range where the reserve is located is less than 30 , which needs more pandas to make the group self-sustained. Since 2009, the reserve has taken the job of panda release. Nine out of 11 captive giant pandas were released here.
How many pandas have been released into the wild?
Releasing captive giant pandas into the wild is a bold and controversial move because not all can survive. Out of 11 giant pandas being released by the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda so far, nine have managed to live in the wild.
Where are pandas released?
In 2020, three giant pandas will be released to Guanshan National Nature Reserve in east China's Jiangxi Province. This is the first time pandas are released outside their hometown, Sichuan Province.
When was the first captive panda released?
The first captive panda released in 2006, Xiang Xiang, was a two-year-old boy. At this age, the baby panda was about to separate from its mother, which was an ideal time to be released into the wild to lead an independent life. Everyone thought Xiang Xiang was a perfect candidate initially.
