Too Much to Save Giant Panda from Extinction?

Wildlife expert Chris Packham has ignited debate after questioning the millions spent on trying to save the giant panda from extinction . The conservation reliant endangered species has suffered from extreme loss of habitat and fragmentation, with zoologist Packham suggesting that the bear should die out “with a degree of dignity”

He continued “Here is a species that, of its own accord, has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It’s not a strong species,” he said. Indeed, species extinction is a natural process happening over a long period of thousands of years, but this rate has been escalated to between 100 and 1,000 higher than the natural cycle.

Surely stepping on some toes at the World Wildlife Foundation, the Springwatch presenter went on to describe the animal as a “T-shirt animal” on which too much conservation money is focused and wasted.

But is he right to say we should, in his words, “pull the plug” on the animal which relies almost entirely on a diet of bamboo, eating 12-38kg of it a day to keep up energy needs.

The loss of bamboo habitat is a real danger to the giant panda’s survival, but as it only grows at certain altitudes and many of these areas are under pressure from human activities such as logging, the amount of bamboo available to these animals is increasingly sparse.

Dr Mark Wright, chief scientific adviser at WWF UK rejected Packham’s comments that the giant panda was at an evolutionary dead-end due to its bamboo reliance, saying “Chris has taken an irresponsible position. Pandas face extinction because of poaching and human pressures on their habitat. They have adapted to the area in which they live and if left alone, they function perfectly well.”

However, Wright also admitted that Packham was “right in his assertion that we must secure habitat in order to protect endangered species. This is exactly what we work to achieve in the case of the giant panda. Importantly, in protecting those mountain areas where pandas live, we are also retaining vital habitat and resources for thousands of other species (many also endangered) and helping the human communities that depend on this landscape”

The future of giant panda’s therefore looks uncertain- they are solitary animals, have a very restrictive diet, and are often reluctant to mate. Are we fighting a losing battle in attempting to keep them from extinction?

Chris Packham is an ambassador for Northumberland Wildlife Trust, the wildlife charity which has received over £139,000 to date in support from the People’s Postcode Lottery.