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http://www.itv.com/news/2012-07-06/pand ... da-monium/

:shakeshout:

AWW the nice..Mrs T will love that

'Tis a good thing I'm not allergic to cuteness.

Tooo cute

Yup, Even I liked that!

They are very cute however not very intelligent creatures. Pandas would have been extinct years ago had it not been for the constant conservation work that goes on around the world to save them.

In many ways it is a shame that the same effort is not being made to save the endangered ugly dangerous xyz because very likely it is of a higher value to the world than the panda will ever be. The same funding is just not available.

Also the Panda genus comes from China, a country that is well known for treating other bear species in the cruelest way, well beyond my comprehension anyway, yet they invest tons of money in the Panda. Do what the world find charming and the world turns a blind eye to what is really going on.

christel wrote:In many ways it is a shame that the same effort is not being made to save the endangered ugly dangerous xyz because very likely it is of a higher value to the world than the panda will ever be. The same funding is just not available.

One good thing about the big, cute enigmatic species like the panda and tiger, is that they can be used as 'umbrella' species - to protect them, you have to protect the whole habitat (which are large for such animals), and so protecting everything else there

With pandas being endemic to China, they are pretty much obligated to protect them (especially as they are loved worldwide)...which is good news for the pandas, and also good for some pretty pressured environments in China...


Oh, and I'd give just about anything to have a bundle with those little guys :shakeshout:

Edinburgh Zoo are paying about $1m per year to rent the two they have!

I wonder how much actually gets to the conservation projects out in China?

Polchraine wrote:Edinburgh Zoo are paying about $1m per year to rent the two they have!

I wonder how much actually gets to the conservation projects out in China?

You'd be surprised - China would seriously lose face in the world if they allow the panda to become extinct - They have some fairly large and remote reserves and breeding enclosures, where tons of bamboo is brought in on foot - not cheap, and it wouldn't surprise me if most of the Edinburgh money goes to panda projects.

Sad new from Tokyo though: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/328325