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The Weekly Debate
The Dilemma
FirstNews
Issue 383
18th OCT - 24th OCT 2013
Should we save pandas?
The story
Saving pandas could be a “waste of
money” says Chris Packham.
BBC wildlife presenter, Chris Packham
questions if too much money is being
“wasted” on trying to save pandas
and other animals, such as pandas,
tigers, rhinos and elephants, from
extinction and not enough on other
smaller animals, who also need our
help.
The Autumnwatch host told BBC’s
Newsround:
“When it comes to pandas, we’ve
spent millions and millions of dollars
on trying to rear them in captivity and
it’s only really worked
in China.”
He added that
pandas are not a
strong species and
should be allowed to
die out naturally:
“...when they’ve tried
to release the animals back into the
wild, none of them have survived. So,
perhaps, putting so much money into
breeding these animals might be a
waste of money.”
Chris says a quarter of mammals
and 13 percent of all birds are under
threat. So, instead of looking after
cuter, bigger creatures, we should be
focusing on protecting habitats for all
wildlife instead.
Facts and figures
In 1977 there were an estimated 1,000 pandas in the
wild. There are now about 1,600 pandas, mostly in the
mountain ranges of central China.
Approximately 300 pandas live in captivity.
There is only one captive-born panda, called Tao Tao,
currently living in the wild.
Xiang Xiang, the first captive-bred panda to be
released into the wild, died as a result of fights with other
pandas for food and territory just a year after his release
in 2006.
as are found in
Most wild pand
Pandas are the unofficial mascot for China. The country
makes millions from lending its captive-bred pandas to
zoos around the world. Edinburgh paid £6 million for a
10-year loan scheme.
Bamboo is not very nutritional, so pandas need to eat
10-20 kg (20-40 lb) a day.
Pandas reproduce infrequently; female pandas are only
able to become pregnant for 2-3 days each spring.
Approximately 150 species in the world become
extinct every day.
Tao Tao was born
in captivity
but now lives in th
e wild.
China.
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Dilemma
The Weekly Debate
FirstNews
Issue 383
18th OCT - 24th OCT 2013
Should we save pandas?
Background
Size and good looks seem to matter when it comes
to the endangered animals we try and save. Most of
us know about the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and can
name the endangered animals they support, such as
tigers and polar bears. We know their logo as the panda
too.
These big animals are fascinating creatures and we
can’t resist pictures of their adorable young can we?
No doubt, you’ve got a cuddly, stuffed toy lion, tiger or
polar bear at home.
That’s why the media have been covering the
pregnancy of Edinburgh Zoo’s female giant panda, Tian
Tian, for months but we don’t hear about the Zoo’s
endangered blue crowned laughing thrushes and the
Polynesian tree snail.
Snails are just not as appealing as fluffy, bear cubs, so
don’t get as much help to survive as pandas. Sadly, it
was a similar case for the Yangtze river dolphin:
“The last large mammal extinction was another
animal in China – the Yangtze river dolphin, which
looked like a worn-out piece of pink soap with piggy
eyes and was never going to make it on to anyone’s
T-shirt. If that had appeared beautiful to us, then
I doubt very much that it would be extinct. But it
vanished, because it was pig-ugly and swam around in
a river where no-one saw it.” said Chris Packham in an
interview with the Guardian Newspaper.
However, the WWF says it is still important to protect
the panda because it is “one of the strongest symbols
of nature conservation”. The panda helps draw people’s
attention to other endangered animals.
The WWF say that by conserving big animals, such as
pandas, we will also help their ecosystems:
“The region [of China] where pandas live, in the
Yangtze Basin and its magnificent forests are home to
a stunning array of wildlife such as dwarf blue sheep
and beautiful multi-coloured
pheasants; as well as a number
of other endangered species,
including the golden monkey,
takin and crested ibis.
They also play a crucial role in
the bamboo forests where they
roam by spreading seeds and
facilitating greater growth of
the vegetation.”
A bambo
Saving the panda, the says
in China.
o forest
Tian Tian relaxes at her
home in Edinburgh Zoo.
the WWF, not only protects the environment but also
helps the local economy. Tourists want to come and see
the pandas, so the forests need to be looked after for
the pandas to survive. This eco-tourism creates jobs for
people.
Others argue that panda conservation in China is
not working. Despite the millions of pounds spent
on breeding pandas, only one captive bred panda is
currently living in the wild. Of more concern is the fact
that pandas continue to lose their natural habitat as the
bamboo forests are cut down to make way for farming,
factories and city growth.
Is the panda naturally destined to become extinct
anyway? Pandas are terrible at breeding, they only
survive in a restricted habitat of the bamboo forests
in China, and their food source of bamboo is not very
nourishing.
Instead of trying to spend so much on protecting
a weak species, Chris Packham wants us to focus our
conservation efforts on biodiversity hotspots where
whole ecosystems are at risk. Then we can preserve as
much life as we possibly can:
“I don’t want pandas to die out. I want species to
stay alive ... [but] without habitat, you’ve got nothing.
So maybe if we took all the cash we spend on pandas
and just bought rainforest with it, we might be doing a
better job.”
And the benefits to the
human race of protecting
the planet’s rich biodiversity
are clear. As Dr Mark Eaton,
of the bird charity, the
RSPB (Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds) says:
“We know wildlife
provides clean air, clean
water, stops erosion,
pollinates crops and more.”
KLY
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Dilemma
The Weekly Debate
FirstNews
Issue 383
18th OCT - 24th OCT 2013
Should we save pandas?
Viewpoints
NO
engdu Research
Staff at the Ch
.
Panda Breeding
Base for Giant
Dr Sarah Bexell, Director of Conservation
Education at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant
Panda Breeding, told The Mail on Sunday newspaper
that captive-bred pandas are no more than a “caricature”
of the real thing and are unable to survive in the wild.
NO
“I agree completely [with Chris Packham]. When
I was a WWF trustee I begged them to buy big
chunks of the land in which these animals live, not
just go on spending millions on rearing pandas
in captivity. You can’t release them back into the
wild if there is no wild left and we shouldn’t rear
animals just to put them into cages.”
Wildlife expert David Bellamy
NO
“Pandas [are the] poster animal for the
zoo industry—[they] receive millions and
millions worth of support, and some of
this is directed in a wasteful way,” Will
Travers, CEO of the wildlife-advocacy
group Born Free USA, who claims
money would be better spent preserving
pandas’ habitat.
YES
Rebecca Snyder, Curator of Mammals at Zoo
Atlanta says the greatest threat to pandas is the human
destruction of their habitat – with the bamboo forests
being cleared to farm the land: “Thus I think it is our
responsibility to conserve giant pandas and ensure the
survival of the species in the wild.”
YES
“daft” and “irresponsible”
Dr Mark Wright, Chief
Scientist at the WWF,
describing Chris Packham’s
comments about letting
pandas become extinct.
YES
“Pandas need whatever money they have generated. The
question is whether it has taken away something from other
species. I would argue it is helping other species.” Steven Price,
Senior Director of Conservation Science and Practice, WWF
KLY
WEE ATE
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Dilemma
The Weekly Debate
FirstNews
Issue 383
18th OCT - 24th OCT 2013
Should we save pandas?
Words
Biodiversity – the variety of life on
earth, including ecosystems
Breeding – getting animals to
produce offspring (babies)
Captivity – being kept in a cage
Caricature –an exaggeration of the
real thing, like a cartoon version
Conservation – protecting,
preserving and restoring the natural
environment
Ecosystem – plants and animals
living in a particular location and
depending on each other to survive
Eco-tourism – tourism that tries to
benefit local people and not harm
the environment
Endangered – seriously at risk of
extinction
Extinct – a species of animals which
is no longer living
Facilitating – helping to create,
bring about
Focus on – concentrate on
Habitat – the natural home or
environment for an animal, plant or
other organism
Mammal – a warm-blooded
vertebrate animal, with hair or fur,
including humans
Micro-organisms – living organisms
that are so small, they can only be
seen under a microscope
Protect – look after, conserve
Release – let go, set free
Rear – bring up and care for
Symbol – a thing that represents, or
stands for, something else. E.g. the
panda is the symbol for the WWF
Under threat – in danger
Points to discuss
1. We are spending more money to save
some of the endangered, bigger animals
than we should, according to Chris
Packham. Name three of these endangered
animals...
2. Why does he feel that breeding pandas
in captivity to release in the wild is a waste
of money?
3. How many mammals are threatened
with extinction?
4. How many birds are endangered?
5. In the BACKGROUND information, what
is the diet of pandas and why is this a
problem?
6. How do the other animals of the forests
help the pandas?
7. How do pandas help the local
economy?
8. How is man contributing to the loss of
panda habitat?
As well as the internet, we have another worldwide web. It’s
the web of living organisms and their environments. They are
all linked together like a spider’s web.
This living web is held together by interdependence. This
means that plants and animals (including humans) depend
on each other, as well as micro-organisms, land, water, and
climate, to keep our entire system alive and well.
If you remove one piece, or one species, small changes can
lead to big problems that aren’t easy to fix. For example, if
bees cannot smell flowers because they are being polluted by
diesel fumes, they do not pollinate crop plants and we do not
have enough food to eat.
Experts agree that extinction is a natural process. The
question is which species can we not afford to lose?
Does it matter if a species dies out?
KLY
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Dilemma
The Weekly Debate
FirstNews
Issue 383
18th OCT - 24th OCT 2013
Should we save pandas?
Reasons why it matters to save pandas:
1.
Reasons why it does not matter if pandas
become extinct:
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Finding out more about the following points would
help me make an even more informed decision:
My reasoned opinion
Should we save pandas?
Reasons why I think we should/should not save pandas:
Why not vote on this discussion and post your opinions on the First News website? www.firstnews.co.uk
Interesting comments may be printed in the News Views column of the newspaper, next week.