Pandas

Favorite animals

I have quite a few numbers of favorite animals and they are; pandas, dolphins, bears, cats of all sorts such as tigers, cheetahs, panthers, etc., and dogs. But overall, my favorite animals are pandas. The Giant Pandas only exist in China and even though I have never seen a panda except on TVs and photos, I love them for their cuddly and cute looks. Unfortunately, Giant Pandas are currently endangered species. Apparently, there seems to be only 239 in zoos of China, and 27 in zoos of other countries. A 2006 study shows that in total, only about 2000 to 3000 pandas live in the wild currently. Reports do show that the numbers of wild pandas are increasing, but the World Conservation Union aka IUCN has come to believe that there is not enough certainty to remove the pandas from the endangered list. I agree with them. A specie should never be removed from the list just because there was a little bit of increase. I come to believe this because as soon as we start paying little attention to the pandas, the population might shrink down again.

One thing I don’t understand is; why are pandas endangered? Do…do humans capture pandas and eat them in various ways such as fried, roasted, or maybe raw like sushi? Okay, the last part was kind of a joke, but the other part I am definitely serious. I am sure that humans don’t eat these adorable creatures, so why are they endangered? There are two major reasons as I have found in WikiAnswers: habitat loss and pandas are specialists. “Specialists have very restrictive diet and habitat requirements. Since pandas only eat bamboo and only live in certain Asian habitats, they are predestined to be endangered. Rats will never be endangered because it can eat almost any thing and live almost anywhere (generalist).”

Do you have an animal you love? Well, what’d happen if all of a sudden the only way to see them is through photos? What if so much years had passed since the animals you love has been endangered that you come to believe that that animal is as unbelievable as aliens could be? If everyone takes a tiny step to help, in the end, we’d all be taking a huge step in helping the future.