In my previous blog post I mentioned that the animal I feel connected with in the Animal Kingdom is the Giant Panda. The native Chinese bear is known for its adorable black and white coat and its curious diet; eating up to 28 lbs of bamboo each day. This post also comes at a great time for all pandas around the world. It has been announced today that the Giant Panda is no longer an endangered species. In the last decade, the population of pandas across the globe has grown approximately 17%. This recent growth has raised the status of this species from endangered to vulnerable, a status that could not have been achieved without the help of many agencies and in particular the World Wildlife Fund. Although the panda population has been on the rise as of late, climate change still threatens the well being of the species. As mentioned before, the bears are heavily reliant on bamboo for their diets and climate change threatens to erase 35% of the pandas bamboo source in the next 80 years (CNN).
Source:
Grinberg, Emanuella. "This Animal Is No Longer Endangered." CNN. Cable News Network, 5 Sept. 2016. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.
Back in China and in San Diego Zoo, I saw how hard people tried to protect these cute pandas and I am glad all the preservations worked!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that these preservation efforts were showing these results! I have always loved pandas so I am glad that they're no longer endangered.
ReplyDeletePandas are so incredibly cute and funny! I love watching the videos of the baby pandas messing with the zookeepers, sliding down slides, and being mischievous. I am so happy to hear that they are not endangered anymore because the world would be a very sad place without pandas.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the picture of the panda I immediately thought of the good news that was barely announced. It is great to know they are not endangered anymore but I really think we have to continue working hard so that they don't have to suffer from lack of resources due to our selfish behavior.
ReplyDeleteWow, 28 pounds of bamboo a day! That's a lot of bamboo. It's wonderful that they aren't considered endangered anymore!
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