Giant pandas: the species-based approach to conservation
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Giant pandas: the species-based
approach to conservation
The giant panda is one of the most recognizable animals on Earth. They have
long been used as mascots of the environmental movement, and have been
used extensively to raise the profile of conservation issues. Sir Peter Scott
famously used them in his design for the logo of the World Wildlife Fund (he
was also one of the founders of the organization): the WWF (as it came to be
known) is one of the longest running conservation organizations, celebrating its
50th anniversary in 2011. Photo (right) shows the WWF logo beneath a giant
panda statue in Beijing Zoo.
Biology, ecology, and threats
Giant pandas are unusual animals – they
are a member of the bear family but unlike
their relatives (which are largely
carnivorous) they have limited their food
intake largely to plants, and to one plant in
particular – bamboo (although they also
eat grasses, vegetables, meat and eggs if
they are available). Their mouths are
adapted to their bamboo diet, with big
powerful jaws and large molars and
premolars (wider and flatter than those of
other bears) that help them grid the tough
bamboo stems. They also have pseudo-
thumbs (a modified wrist bone) which
allow them to grip plant stalks. Despite
this reliance on bamboo, they still have the digestive system of a carnivore, although they get more
nutrients from bamboo than other bears would do, as they have guts that contain specific bacteria that
break down cellulose (abundant in the cell walls of bamboo) into useable simple sugars. Despite this,
they are still poorly adapted to surviving on the nutrient-poor diet of bamboo, and get round this
problem by eating for large parts of the day, consuming between 12–38 kg of bamboo (almost 20% of
its weight) over a 15-hour period.
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is classified as ‘endangered’ under the IUCN Red List.
Once distributed widely across southern and eastern China, giant pandas are now restricted to six
mountain ranges at the western edge of their former range. They live in an area from the Tibetan
Plateau to the Sichuan Basin, including the mountain ranges of Qinling, Minshan, Lianshan, Qionglai
Shan, Daxiangling, and the Xiaoxiangling Mountains (covering Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi
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provinces). This range covers 45 administrative regions in China. They live in alpine bamboo forests
1,200–3,500 metres above sea level, where there is adequate rainfall, rich water resources, and a
suitable temperature. Giant panda numbers have collapsed to around 1,600 mature animals in the wild,
largely as a result of habitat loss, with their native forests being cleared for agriculture, firewood and
timber. Their reliance on bamboo and the destruction of their native forests have led them to move
further into the mountains, splitting up populations into dispersed groups and reducing the birth rate.
Every 10–120 years, depending on bamboo variety, bamboo plants die back en masse, and may take up
to 20 years to recover sufficiently to feed a giant panda population. This means that giant pandas have
to move on to another area to feed, making it critical that there is enough connected habitat. The
increase in small isolated populations has meant that the giant pandas can no longer migrate to find
alternative food sources when certain types of bamboo become scarce, further reducing populations
sizes.
Giant pandas in Chinese culture
Many historical documents within China refer to giant
pandas, although they have not always been known by
this name – Pixiu, Mo, white bear, bamboo bear, iron-
eaters, and Zouyu are all other names that this unique
species has been known by. In ancient Chinese culture,
the name Pixiu had the most legendary standing, and
was considered an emblem of wealth and good luck,
and a symbol of warriors’ bravery and military might.
In contrast, during the Xi Jin Dynasty (265–316 AD)
the giant panda was called Zouyu, and was regarded as
an embodiment of peace and state friendship due to the
giant panda’s non-aggressive behaviour and docility
and its bamboo-eating habits: kings of warring states Giant pandas enjoy a high profile within Chinese
would order a ceasefire if either side showed a flag culture. Billboard showing pandas at Beijing zoo.
embroidered with a giant panda.
Panda conservation
Japan was the first nation outside China to raise giant pandas. It is said that the Empress Wu Zetian
offered a pair of ‘white bears’ (giant pandas) to the Japanese court in AD 685. In the west, a male
panda called Su-Lin was exhibited in the Chicago Zoo in 1937, and is the earliest record of western
breeding of the species. Within China, the first serious exhibition of the giant panda occurred in Beibei,
Chongqing municipality, and the Zhaofeng Zoo in Shanghai, 1939. Chengdu Zoo began breeding giant
pandas in 1953, and Beijing Zoo in 1963. From 1963 to the present time, the giant panda has been bred
in fifty-three zoos and nature reserves within China and internationally.
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The first five nature
reserves for giant pandas in
China were established in
1963, of which four are in
Sichuan province. The
giant panda nature reserves
have expanded from the
initial five to fifty-six in
2008. Beijing Zoo has an
impressive giant panda
house, and has established a successful breeding program (photos, above).
Raising giant pandas in captivity has three main difficulties: getting the female to come into heat
(become reproductively receptive), conducting artificial insemination (introducing sperm into the
female), and raising the cubs. In 1963, Beijing Zoo had the first success in artificially breeding giant
pandas, and in 1978 the same zoo was the first to successfully carry out artificial insemination. In 1992,
Beijing Zoo succeeded in raising a panda cub that had been artificially bred.
Giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo
On 4th December 2011, two giant pandas (called Tian Tian and Yang Guang) arrived at Edinburgh Zoo
from China. They were the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years. The arrival stimulated
much interest locally and internationally, and the progress of the pandas from China to Scotland could
be followed online. Messages and artwork by more than 1,000 Chinese children accompanied the
pandas on their journey. Both pandas have had cubs before, and it is hoped that the breeding
programme at the zoo will result in the birth of new giant pandas during their stay.
Costs of keeping the giant pandas at
Edinburgh Zoo:
• £250,000 to construct a panda
enclosure
• around £640,000 paid to China
every year for 10 years for hosting
the pandas
• £70,000 per year for food, with most
of the bamboo imported from a
plantation on the outskirts of
Amsterdam.
Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, emphasised the benefits represented by the giant pandas, in
particular enhanced business and cultural and diplomatic links between Scotland and China.
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Theory of Knowledge
Panda conservation – worth the cost?
In order to adapt itself to its local environment, and to avoid competition with other animals, the giant panda
evolved over several million years into a bamboo-eater. It could be argued that the giant panda has ended up
down an evolutionary cul-de-sac, with a carnivore anatomy ill-suited to its bamboo diet. By relying largely on one
staple food, the giant panda has increased its likelihood of extinction. Could it be argued that the money spent
on panda conservation could be better spent on preserving species that have a greater chance of survival in the
wild?
The presence of the giant pandas will clearly have an impact for Edinburgh Zoo, and more widely for
the Scottish economy and tourism. Pre-booked tickets for the first weekend showed an increase of 80%
on usual expectations for a pre-Christmas winter weekend, within significant increased visitor numbers
at the zoo expected during the period the giant pandas will be on show (expected to be increased by ca.
70% per annum). As well as the benefits of the arrangement being discussed in the media, there was
also some criticism, with some commentators suggesting that the pandas were just a ‘commercial deal’
that had little to do with conservation. Others questioned the ethics of the initiative and suggested that
it represented a ‘charm offensive’ by the Chinese government.
The species-based approach to conservation
By focusing on high-profile, iconic species such as the giant panda, there is a greater chance that
conservation issues will catch the public attention, both nationally and internationally, and raise the
necessary money for conservation initiatives. The use of charismatic species in this way is called the
‘species-based approach to conservation’. The advantages of this approach is that money can be raised
for the conservation of other species (including those that may be equally endangered but less
charismatic), and by preserving the habitat of the high-profile animal (in situ conservation) other
organisms in the habitat will also be preserved. Disadvantages of the approach include the favouring of
charismatic species (including those that may not be endangered in the wild) at the expense of less
publically attractive species (even though they may be more critically endangered), and the fact that
whilst species are preserved in zoos (ex situ conservation) their native habitat may be destroyed (as has
happened with the giant panda).
Other links:
• Fact sheet on giant pandas, produced by Edinburgh Zoo
• Learn how giant pandas are being used by the WWF to help in conservation initiatives: access
information here and here.
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more information about the Pearson Baccalaureate series please visit www.pearsonbacconline.com
Questions
1. What methods exist for protecting and conserving endangered animals (see pages 211–213 of
textbook). List three. [3 marks]
2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the methods listed in question 1. [6 marks]
3. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the species-based approach to conservation. [4 marks]
4. List the threats faced by endangered species in the wild. [7 marks]
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more information about the Pearson Baccalaureate series please visit www.pearsonbacconline.com
Suggested answers
1. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES);
captive breeding and reintroduction programmes; zoos. [3 max]
2. CITES: strengths – has been responsible for deterring the international trade in endangered animals
and plants, and is the only convention that does so; weaknesses – it is voluntary and countries can
opt out; penalties may not match the gravity of the crime; may not be a sufficient deterrent to
wildlife smugglers. [2 max]
Captive breeding and reintroduction programmes: strengths – stud books can be used to
maintain genetic diversity of species; captive breeding improves reproductive success; can be used
to bring back species from the brink of extinction in the wild (e.g. golden lion tamarins – textbook
page 213); weaknesses – may not be suitable for all species; may be difficult to know whether
intervention is helping. [2 max]
Zoos: strengths – education of public; increased knowledge of species (ecology and behaviour); the
ability to keep species in controlled environments; genetic monitoring; the ability to hold species
until habitats are restored for in situ conservation; weaknesses – may narrow the gene pool for a
species; captive animals may be unable to adapt back into the wild; some people think that animals
should not be kept in captivity for profit. [2 max]
3. Uses high-profile species that catch the public attention both nationally and internationally (e.g. the
tiger in India); however, it may be less successful in saving non-charismatic species (e.g. the
endemic Madagascan cockroach); with in situ conservation, saving a named species means that its
habitat will also be protected which benefits other organisms in the same habitat; however, a species
can be artificially preserved in a zoo (ex situ conservation) whilst its natural habitat is destroyed
(e.g. giant panda); the species-based approach may lead to conservation efforts focusing on less-
endangered animals but ones that attract public to zoos. [4 max]
4. Trade in souvenirs (e.g. body parts); habitat loss; fashion (e.g. furs); exotic pet trade; traditional
medicine; competition with introduced/non-native species; bushmeat; over-hunting; pollution.
[7 max]
Total: [20 marks]
© Pearson Education Ltd 2012. Photos © A.J. Davis p.1tr, p.2, p.3tr; photos © Pearson Education p.1cl, p.3br, p.5. For
more information about the Pearson Baccalaureate series please visit www.pearsonbacconline.com
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