One of the things that has caused controversy over the years is whether the panda bear is in danger of extinction, it is not a secret that today the Species extinction It is an imminent event which needs to be stopped. Panda bears are mostly under special care, join us to learn more about this cause.
Description of a Panda Bear
First of all, these bears mostly live in different mountainous regions of China, specifically in towns in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. They did not always live in these places as they originally lived in forests, not in mountains, but as a result of the constant destruction of their habitat by logging and agriculture, they had to migrate to higher areas.
When pandas are adults they need a lot of food, that is why they are found in forests where there is a lot of bamboo, being found in places that are at least 5.000 and 10.000 feet above sea level. In these forests, the climate is perfect for it, since there are constant rains and dense fog, which with their fur they can cope with perfectly.
A panda is a bear native to China that has black and white fur, its ears are black, as well as patches on its eyes, its snout, its shoulders and its legs; everything else is white.
It is not known exactly why these bears have the aforementioned coloration, however, it has been believed that their black color gives them perfect camouflage when they live in areas with stones and snow. In order to maintain its body heat, the panda bear consists of a thick layer of hair as well as internal fat that provides the ideal temperature even when in cold areas.
Motivated by a bamboo-based diet, they have a powerful bite with molars that press down hard, thanks to incredible muscles in their jaws, which make them bite into almost anything. These are normally affectionate animals and can be seen with great pleasure, however, they are Wild animals and they must be taken due care as if it were any other species of bear.
Panda Bear Conservation Status
According to world statistics, this bear has a population of approximately 1.864 individuals, since species that are less than a year and a half old are not counted. However, not all of them are suitable for reproduction, therefore, it is a species that is in danger and under constant care. In addition to this, the population of these panda bears is divided into various subpopulations, they are some places that are isolated in various extensions of the mountains of China.
It has not been possible to verify any connectivity between each of them nor how many pandas there are in these subpopulations. According to official reports issued by the State Forestry Administration of China, which were released in 2015, the population decline has been able to stop and begin to rise. This happens thanks to the fact that their habitat has stopped being destroyed in a small proportion, in addition, the panda bears are mostly under the care of forest guards.
However, the constant climate change caused by global warming could wreak havoc on the panda population, since the bamboo forests could be lost in the coming years; its immediate effect will be the loss of hundreds of individuals of this species, which would collaborate with its extinction. On the other hand, the Chinese government entity is carrying out all kinds of actions to preserve the species and its habitat in the face of the imminent danger of the endangered panda bear.
endangered panda bear
Panda bears in China are all considered respectable and admirable beings; but in Europe they were sighted for the first time in the 1990th century. Without a doubt, these bears are under the care of organizations in China and the different reserves located on the Asian continent, but this does not take away from the fact that their population is increasingly affected by their lack of reproduction and habitat degradation. This has resulted in the fact that since XNUMX it is considered an endangered species.
The main reasons for all this is that human beings in favor of representing their development at a social and urban level have been able to excessively degrade their habitat, which constantly produces an interference in their natural behavior that leads to their death. Their habitats are diminished as a consequence of the projects that are approved to build aqueducts or highways in the places where these bears live.
With all that China's environmental reserves do their best, there are many species left living in the wild, and motivated by the fact that their habitats have been mostly destroyed, they need to adapt to new ways of surviving, such as infiltrating farms to be able to eat something, something that seriously affects the economic situation of the farmers and they use traps to kill them; This is something that greatly influences their extinction.
One of the main things that results in the elimination of their habitat is that the bamboo they love so much is also lost over time, this is a food that has become a luxury for panda bears, since they do not they manage to find it in abundance. It is necessary to point out that the diet of a panda bear throughout its life is based on eating bamboo plants, considering that it could subsist on a meat-based diet.
It has been believed that because they are so sedentary they have preferred to eat bamboo to avoid facing prey and/or other bears to get food. Many scholars of the subject wonder if the shortage of bamboo could turn panda bears into carnivorous animals again; This is something for which no answer has been found so far.
Likewise, the genetic variety of a panda bear is compromised since they need to migrate to other territories to be able to reproduce when the season arrives, so these routes promote diversity and thus achieve successful reproduction for their next generations.
What actions has the human being done to put them at risk?
One of the causes of the extinction of the panda bear it is that the human being in favor of its urban development has constituted a serious risk for diverse species, among them the panda bear; These actions are constructions that put their habitats at risk due to their deforestation to build mines, roads, buildings and more. The vast majority of all these works contribute excessively to the degradation of the pandas' habitat, which results in their separation and subpopulations.
Under this same order of ideas, when they are subjected to excessive visits by tourism, they can suffer diseases and constant stress that does not allow pandas to mate and reproduce. Likewise, when in their habitats there is the existence of Domestic animals and also farm animals, can produce pathogens in the environment that attack them and put the panda bear in danger of extinction.
Decrease in genetic diversity
In view of the above, the loss of panda bear habitats causes them to spread apart and not only affects their reproduction, but also creates subpopulations in various regions while their species is in constant decline. Through various scientific studies, it was possible to determine that the genomic characters of panda bears are variable and quite broad.
This does not take away from the fact that, if your species is subjected to various exchanges between populations, it produces a lack of connectivity and your genetic variety would be lost, which in turn leads to your descendants being affected and in the not too long future. distant may become extinct.
Global warming
It is known that the plant bamboo it is the favorite of panda bears; This plant is known to promote synchronous flowering, which causes a chain death of the entire bamboo forest every 15 to 100 years. However, when this happened, the panda bears could migrate to other forests to settle and start feeding. But at present they are migrations that have not been possible since the bamboo forests are not connected to each other, which makes it difficult for the species to feed and its subsequent death.
The destruction of habitats by humans is not the only reason why bamboo forests disappear, the greenhouse effect also contributes greatly to their disappearance. Studies have shown that bamboo forests could be lost by almost 100% before the end of this century.
Measures that have been taken to prevent the extinction of the panda bear
The panda bear is a species for which various protection programs have been created, as well as enabling habitats for them to coexist and create descendants that will help them get off the list of animals in danger of extinction, these are some of the the measures that have been taken:
- The nature reserves that are home to panda bears number 67.
- For the year 1992, the Chinese government used its national budget to create different infrastructures that would be converted into reserves for panda bears. Part of the budget was directed to the recruitment and training of care and surveillance personnel who would protect them against poaching and approaches by people motivated by tourism.
- In 1997, thanks to the Natural Forest Conservation Program, it had a positive effect on panda bears, although its main intention was dedicated to human beings to control floods through a ban on cutting down trees in areas where pandas live.
- Later, in 1981, motivated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the commercialization of panda bears or parts thereof was made illegal.
- Also in 1981, the Grain to Green Program was made public, where farmers could work the different areas where panda bears live, in order to improve erosion and give them a more stable habitat.
- A fairly sustainable method for panda bears is to breed them in captivity for later reintegration into a nature reserve, this could increase their genetic variety, which would be wonderful for isolated subpopulations in different regions.
- On the other hand, in 1988 a Law for the Protection of Nature was enacted, which prohibits the poaching of panda bears.
- One of the best-known conservation plans to help this species is the National Conservation Project for the Giant Panda, which is nothing more than the creation of nature reserves to house these species under their due care.
Survival of a Panda Bear
Nowadays it is known that a panda bear has a complicated task of surviving by its own means, for this reason the environmental protectors who have been duly trained to offer their care in environmental reserves where they are housed, come into action. It is known that many species that are in captivity have already been able to reproduce in reserves under strict care, this guarantees the conservation of the species.
Although they obtain the necessary care, their reproduction is not as constant as one would really like, considering that these bears only have one calf per birth every two years. It has been proven that in the natural state they can have a better reproduction, taking into account what was previously stated regarding their slow reproduction.
If these bears are under stress or suffer any damage, they can last for many years without being able to reproduce. The sale of panda bears and their fur is a very lucrative business for unconscious people who constantly hunt them down to kill them. This, in addition to being illegal, leads to a decrease in their species. For this and many other reasons, they are protected by different laws that strongly punish the hunting of endangered species.
Characteristics of a Panda Bear
Panda bears are truly extraordinary animals, they are unique in their kind within the bear family; a panda bear has a different body than the others, since they have a rounder body. They have become assimilated with Small dogs due to its physiognomic characteristics. Its body consists of white and black fur, its ears are black as well as some spots that they have in their eyes, similar to a raccoon.. Its legs are black as well as a line that goes from its front to its back.
The tail of these bears is short and white and can measure up to 100 centimeters, however, they are the only ones in the bear family that have characteristic colors that identify them as their species. Its color is uniform throughout its population. Newborn panda bears do not have the colors of an adult bear, these color patterns change over the years as they grow. According to various studies carried out, the colors that denote this species protect them in the habitats they live in, whether in rocky or snowy areas.
A panda bear can weigh up to 115 kilograms if it is an adult male, although females always weigh less, reaching up to 100 kilograms in their natural habitat. When they stand up, males usually reach one meter eighty (1,80 m) in height, even up to two meters (2 m), while females can measure one meter sixty (1,60 m). A panda bear can live up to 30 years in its natural habitat, but if they are perfectly cared for in a protected nature reserve they can live up to 35 years.
Habitat of a panda bear
The main place where pandas live is in the province of Yangtze, China. They are distributed in small mountainous places in the central provinces of China such as Sichuan and Shaanxi. Likewise, the existence of these bears has been verified in countries such as Vietnam and Burma.
Food
Panda bears feed almost entirely on bamboo, they are very rarely interested in looking for seeds and small mice to eat, in addition to this, they are characterized by being the only bears capable of sitting down to eat. When panda species are in the care of a reserve, they are fed bamboo, sugar cane, carrots, apples, potatoes, and fiber-rich crackers.
Behavior of a Panda Bear
When it comes to the behavior of these bears, they usually prefer to be alone. Eventually they seek to integrate with others using their own call or through smells. When a female panda gives birth, the cub spends up to three (3) years in the care of her mother until she can become fully independent.
The origins of these bears lie thousands of years ago on earth, in all that time they have managed to adapt to various environments and have special attitudes. In general, it is a fairly calm animal, it does not mess with any other animal other than small rodents to feed, however, it is not constant in it. This bear is not an animal seen as food by predators, or at least not mostly, since the snow leopard sometimes stalks it, for this reason the panda bears are afraid of it.
A snow leopard sees panda cubs as a great dinner, they attack when the mother momentarily moves away from her cub. Although when the mother is present they do not approach, since the mother will most likely not be peaceful and attack him. His main enemy is man. Pandas always try to stay away from humans as they may see them as a threat; the reason for this is that panda bears are hunted for their skins.
Reproduction of a Panda Bear
After they separate from their mother, a panda bear needs at least 1 or 3 years to reach sexual maturity, that is, around their 4 or 8 years of life, they can reproduce until they reach 20 years of age. On the other hand, the ovulation cycle of a female only has it once a year, specifically in the spring season; They only have 2 days to conceive, so they use scents and calls so that the males go to them and can mate.
A female panda bear has a gestation period that can range from 3 to 5 months depending on when the egg was fertilized. The female can gestate two offspring at the same time, considering that at the time of birth only one survives. Given that the offspring last up to three (3) years under the care of their mother, she can have 1 offspring every two years, which means that in her life she can have up to a maximum of 8 offspring.
Without a doubt, it is a fairly low birth rate, which is why one of the reasons because pandas are in danger of extinction. Their tiny population is a factor that mostly affects their genetic development.
Your appearance
The head of a panda bear is larger than that of a normal bear, being rounder than that of any other species. Motivated by the fact that their diet is based mostly on bamboo, they have a great power of bite in their molars. As a curious fact about this species, you have to know that they have a kind of "thumb" that resembles that of a human, having five fingers on its paw just like primates. These fingers are used to grip the bamboo.
Another aspect to note is that they differ from any other species of bear, is that a panda bear does not have pads on its hind legs, which can be seen in other species of bears. It is not very difficult to recognize a panda bear, since its fur is unique and no other bear has it.
red panda bear
The red panda belongs to the Ailurus fulgens family, and it is a panda that, due to its physiognomy, only varies its fur with its close brother; although in the same way, it is an endangered panda bear. In addition to varying in its coat, this is much smaller than the traditional one, reaching between 30 and 60 centimeters nothing more, its weight varies according to gender, since females can weigh up to 4.5 kg while a male could reach 6 kg.
In general, they can be found more than anything in the southeast region of the Asian continent; specifically in southern Tibet, the provinces of Yunnan, Hengduan and even the Himalayas. It has been a species that, according to archaeological research, has been able to confirm its presence in Latin America, all thanks to its fossil remains found in this part of the world.
Like their panda brother, these bears eat a lot of bamboo plants, but they can vary their menu with a bit of fruit or roots. It is a fairly sedentary species, since throughout the day it can be seen sleeping in small holes in the trees or some branch; they are almost always active when dawn comes. They have the same behavior as traditional pandas, they like solitude and rarely interact with others.
When the winter season arrives, these bears mate in order to gestate young and finally to give birth to their young in the spring season. Its pregnancy can last from 3 to 5 months and a female can give birth to up to four young from a single litter; her cubs are born blind, and only weigh between 100 and 150 grams.
Curiosities
This unique species of bears has characteristic elements that no other species of the bear family has, then there are the following curiosities that you surely did not know about them:
- When the females have their young, they can barely weigh 100 grams, they are born blind and hairless, closely resembling a small rodent.
- A female reaches sexual maturity at around four years of age; although she only has a period of between 2 or 3 days to be able to mate once a year.
- They can live between 20 and 35 years depending on whether they are in the wild or in an environmental reserve.
- They can produce up to 20 kg of fecal material daily, since they defecate more than 30 times in less than 24 hours.
- In China, it receives the curious name of "great-bear-cat", since its black eyes and the pupils that they have make them similar to a cat.
- The punishment that a person receives for killing a panda bear can reach 20 years in prison, this is motivated by the fact that it is a completely adored animal in that country.
- They are quite shy animals, and they are not as sociable with people as is believed at first glance.
The World Wide Fund for Nature Protection (WWF) has used the image of a panda bear as its logo since 1961. - A very interesting quality of these bears is that they do not need to hibernate, as other bear species do; In addition to this, his bamboo-based diet is enough to generate enough fat to live and maintain his body heat.
- The panda called Tohuí panda was the first panda that died in Mexico, being then one of the first habitats that these bears had years ago in Latin America.
- A bear named Chu-lín was the first bear to be born in a Madrid zoo.