As China marches forward with aggressive infrastructure construction plans, years of panda conservation face major setbacks.
Despite the panda’s status as China’s signature animal, China’s desire for economic development may spell doom for this shy and gentle creature.
The panda’s already fractured habitat is being split up into even smaller pockets by construction of highways at nature reserves. According to People’s Daily Online, WWF China has reported several panda populations have already been forced into habitats just 1 kilometer wide.
Pandas limited to fragmented home ranges are unable to breed with other populations, severely impacting opportunities for genetic diversity within the species – and leading to extinction in the wild.
Fan Zhiyong, Species Program Director at WWF Beijing says that if some of the infrastructure construction is not stopped, conservation efforts face a 20-year setback. He explained that highways and hydropower stations are separating pandas from each other, increasing the risk of inbreeding. He also noted that local governments find it hard to resist the lure of 400 million yuan ($58.8 million) in tax income from building hydropower stations, but that the tradeoff would mean losing the wild panda.
If the panda cannot mate with those from other habitats, it may face extinction within two to three generations. We have to act now.
Besides facing threats to their habitat, pandas’ low libidos make it difficult to breed them in captivity. Breeders have even experimented with showing the animals “panda porn” – videos of other pandas mating – in hopes of getting them in the mood for love.
China’s wild panda population is approximately 1,590 pandas, mostly in southwestern Sichuan, northern Shaanxi and northwestern Gansu provinces.
Image source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelau/ / CC BY 2.0
About Rhishja Cota-Larson
Greed first; wildlife second.
Were it always thus.
they have been “facing extinction” for over 100 years. Aye, they are used to it.