by Sunnie Lindell
Imagine
this:.....Living on a mountainside, the land is so beautiful,
and so fresh, but your only food source has diminished. You know
that you must travel to other mountain ranges to be able to survive.
There is danger in the valleys, everywhere, and the very thought
of moving from the place that you now reside in, brings terror.
There is a knowing that you will be hunted, or your very presence
will be misinterpreted, and once again, you will be shot dead
on the spot. Your body will waste away, or someone will, illegally,
take your hide and sell it for a very high price, leaving the
rest of you to rot away. Not only this, your home, your bamboo
forest is being cut down so that timber can grow to be sold,
and farmers can have land to grow various crops. Your home, disappearing
so fast....Imagine this....this is what the Panda Bear faces
every time their only food supply, which is Bamboo, runs out.
Bamboo has a strange cycle, where once every 15-120 years, it
dies back, and will grow again from new seeds. It can take up
to 20 years for the bamboo to grow back enough to support and
nourish the pandas. Which means that the pandas on one mountain
have to move to another to survive. There are humans that live
in the valleys in China, and the human population is growing
so rapidly, that the last 600 wild pandas are being pushed closer
and closer to their extinction.
Why, in this world with so many
humans must we make more? Why in this world with dying species,
must we hunt them still, for our own selfish reasons? Why, in
this world with so few pandas, must we sit in front of our televisions,
at our desks, on our private airplanes, in our homes, and do
nothing. Do we have nothing to give? Do we have no sympathy,
no heart? Will only a few stand up with what little they have
and with the small amount of support given, and try to make a
difference in the life and well-being of this precious bear,
the giant panda?
Facts
Scientific Name: (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Size: 4 to 5 feet in length, with a five inch tail.
Weight: At birth, panda cubs weigh only about as much
as a quarter-pound stick of butter (90-130 grams) and have little
fur. Adults can weigh more than 220 pounds.
Lifespan: 10-15 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity.
Habitat: The Minshan and Qinling Mountains, in China
Diet: Bamboo
Gestation: variable gestation period of 97 to 163 days
pandas generally give birth to single young or sometimes twins;
the reproductive rate is about one young every two years.
Predators: humans
Population Status
World Wildlife Fund
According to the last panda census in the mid-1980s, there may
be as few as 1,000 giant pandas occupying about 13,000 square
kilometers (5,000 square miles) of habitat scattered across six
mountain ranges in southwestern China. Panda habitat falls within
the temperate forests of southwest China, one of the most biologically
rich temperate areas on Earth
The main threats to giant pandas are habitat loss and fragmentation,
and poaching. Their habitat has been severely reduced by logging
and forest clearance for agricultural settlement. Because most
valleys are inhabited by people, many giant panda populations
are isolated in narrow belts of bamboo, sometimes no more than
1,000-1,200 m wide.
Despite the death penalty for
poaching and trading in panda skins in China, the species is
still hunted.
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All are Non-Governmental, Non-Profit Organizations.
The
American Zoo and Aquarium Association
The American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) was established
in 1972 to increase the involvement of professionally run zoos
and aquariums in conservation, education and research.
China
Wildlife Conservation Association
Founded in Beijing in December 1983, the China Wildlife Conservation
Association (CWCA) now has 30 provincial-level and 260 prefeture/county-level
branches, and about 30 thousand members who are wildlife conservationists,
administrators, scientists, educators, natural reserve works
and wildlife lovers. CWCA's mission is to promote the development
of Chinese wildlife conservation , protect, develop and reasonably
utilize wildlife resources and rescue endangered species.
EarthTrust
sue@flipperfund.com
Earthtrust is an international research and educational organization
dedicated to the preservation of wildlife and the natural environment.
Founded in Hawaii in 1976, Earthtrust has developed a wide variety
of innovative campaigns which protect whales, turtles, dolphins,
Asian wildlife, and more. To
donate:
World Wildlife Fund
Join By Phone:
1-800-CALL-WWF
WWF relies on close collaboration with Chinese agencies and institutions,
as well as international organizations.
What
is WWF Doing?
The
Zoological Society of San Diego
pr@sandiegozoo.org
The Zoological Society of San Diego is a conservation, education
and recreation organization dedicated to the reproduction, protection
and exhibition of animals, plants and habitats.
An international conference
on the giant panda, held in San Diego during October 2000, brought
together many of the top scientists in the field and created
a forum for evaluating past goals in giant panda conservation
while setting new priorities for future studies.
Around 85 presentations on various aspects of panda conservation,
captive breeding, and scientific investigations. The conference
was jointly organized by the Zoological Society and the World
Wildlife Fund--U.S., along with the China Wildlife Conservation
Association and the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens
as co-sponsors.
Bears.Org
bear@bears.org
- A wonderful source of information on the panda bear, and other
tyrpes of bears. A page dedicated to the preservation of accurate
bear beliefs.
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Animal Wise - The Spirit Language and
Signs of Nature
By: Ted Andrews
To
Purchase
"For those to whom the panda appears there are great tasks
ahead. The early stages will be most difficult, and it will be
important not to split your attention in whatever you endeavor.
Remain focused on one thing at a time. Follow it to completion
and then move on to something else."
Bamboo Valley: A Story of a Chinese
Bamboo Forest.
(The Nature Conservancy Habitat)
By: Ann Whitehead Nagda and Jim Effler
To
Purchase
-About the danger one panda encounters while finding a new home.
I Am a Little Panda (Little Animal
Stories) Children's Stories
By: Francois Crozat
*Follows the daily life of a
baby panda, from Spring when he is born, to the beginning of
Winter.
To
Purchase
The Giant Panda: Hope For Tomorrow
Young Readers
By: Carol A. Amato, and David Wenzel
* "Set at the Panda Research
and Rescue Center in China, the story follows Ming Chi as she
helps her scientist father search for a panda cub abandoned by
its sick mother. Factual information about the animal and its
endangered status is delivered in dialogue by the girl's father
as they treat the mother and search for the cub. "
To
Purchase
The Penguin Atlas of Endangered
Species
By: Richard MacKay
* "Confronting the possibility that as many as 20 percent
of existing plants and animals will be extinct by 2030, The Penguin
Atlas of Endangered Species is an indespensable resource for
locating and identifying different species of wildlife and shows
how human survival depends on biodiversity."
To
Purchase
Saving the Giant Panda
By: Terry L. Maple
*" The giant panda is one of nature's most beloved and unusual
creatures. Unfortunately, it is also one of its most endangered.
In the fall of 1999, after years of negotiations, Zoo Atlanta
received two giant pandas from China and established itself as
a leader in the worldwide quest to save this dying species. In
a richly illustrated coffee-table book, Terry L. Maple, the director
of Zoo Atlanta, tells the fascinating twelve-year roller-coaster
story of bringing Lun Lun and Yang Yang to their new home in
America.
To
Purchase
Panda's Wisdom Includes:
*Understanding the value of slowness
*Connection to Eastern beliefs
*Nourishment
*Balance
*Sensitivity
*Adaptability
*Gentle Strength
*Connection to the Plant Kingdom
To learn more about Animal Totems:
Animal
Spirits Core
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TO TOP
Bear
Farming and Trade in China and Taiwan
* This is a very important article to read for any bear lover.
A very disturbing piece of writing, with what the truth of how
bears are traded, tortured, and murdered for "pleasure food",
and the gall bladder being something used to boost an athlete's
performance.
China Wildlife Conservation Association : Endangered
Animals in China
*A wonderful source of information on the panda bear, for those
who want to know more about this beautiful creature.
Giant-Panda.com
*An unbelievable page with so much to learn about the panda,
and I must say, beautifully done as well!
Panda Central
*One of the best sites that I have run across on any animal,
to share important information on an endangered animal, such
as the panda bear.
The
Zoological Society of San Diego
*Offering photos, facts and stories about the Pandas at the zoo,
involved with a conservation research program for the pandas.
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PANDIT BANDIT
Site research by Sunnie
Lindell
Site design and construction
by Dwayne
Edward Rourke
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a convenience, our site links to other sites that may be of interest
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