Kindly thumb this Herd too... Save-The-Panda

SAVE-THE-PANDA CAMPAIGN

Do leave a comment in my profile if u have thumb my herd =)
I will rtf when i am online.
Unknown "Oreo" Sleepy - 16 years, 11 months, 4 days ago

What is being done to save them?

In the hopes of saving the giant panda from extinction, twelve giant panda reserves have been set up in China. These reserves have been created in regions where reasonable large-sized panda populations have been found, usually between 10 to 140 individuals. The largest of these is Wolong. China has made it law that anyone caught poaching giant pandas will be faced with possible life imprisonment or from 1987 onwards, even execution.
Also, giant pandas have been taken from the wild in order to partake in captive breeding programs in an effort to increase the numbers as well as the genetic diversity of the species. Efforts have also been made to lessen the giant panda’s dependency on bamboo as their staple diet and to introduce it to new areas not currently occupied by it in order to expand its habitat. So-called bamboo corridors have been created to encourage panda migration from one area to another in hopes of reducing inbreeding.
In the cases where a female panda gives birth to multiple cubs in zoos and in captive breeding stations, scientists have been able to encourage a greater cub survival rate by periodically switching the mother panda’s cubs so that each cub can gain the much needed maternal care rather than just one. In the last few years, Chinese scientists have resorted to attempting to clone the giant panda using a rabbit as the surrogate mother; this project is still in progress. Profits received from zoo attendance where captive pandas are kept are donated to panda conservation in the wild
Unknown "Oreo" Sleepy - 16 years, 11 months, 7 days ago

How many of my Kinds are left?

It is difficult to calculate exactly how many pandas are left, but an estimated 800 live in the wild and roughly 100 live in captivity, mostly in zoos, breeding centres and special reserves in China. Yet despite all the attention to its plight and international efforts to save the panda, there is a real risk that it will become extinct.

Unknown "Oreo" Sleepy - 16 years, 11 months, 8 days ago

Reasons to Protect Me!!

Today, only around 1,600 giant pandas survive on Earth. There are several reasons why pandas are endangered:

Low reproductive rate— Pandas like to be by themselves most of the year, and they have a very short breeding season when a male will look for a female to mate with. Females give birth to one or two cubs, which are very dependent on their mothers during the first few years of life. In the wild, mother pandas will care for only one of the young.

Bamboo shortages— When bamboo plants reach maturity, they flower and produce seeds, and then the mature plant dies. The seeds grow slowly into plants large enough for pandas to eat. Giant pandas can eat 25 different types of bamboo, but they usually eat only the 4 or 5 kinds that grow in their home range. The unusual thing about bamboo is that all of the plants of one species growing in an area will bloom and die at the same time. When those plants die, pandas move to another area.

Habitat destruction— China has more than one billion people. As people build more cities and farms and use more natural resources, giant pandas lose their homes.

Hunting— When hunters set snares for other animals, like musk deer, the traps often kill pandas instead.
Unknown "Oreo" Sleepy - 16 years, 11 months, 8 days ago

Do You Know?? No. 2

The giant panda is considered a true bear (before recent genetic studies, it was thought to be a member of the raccoon family). It belongs to the:

* Kingdom Animalia (the animals)
* Phylum Chordata
* Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones)
* Class Mammalia (warm-blooded animals with hair and mammary glands)
* Order Carnivora
* Family Ursidae (Bears)
* Genus and Species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning "cat feet black white"
Unknown "Oreo" Sleepy - 16 years, 11 months, 8 days ago