Endangered species - The Giant Panda

Giant pandas are an endangered species that can only be found in China. Today, only a few thousand can be found in the wild. There are multiple reasons for them being endangered. First of all, their natural habitat is being destroyed because of human development in the area. This is also the main reason for many other animals being endangered. Not only are their habitats being destroyed, but their main food source, bamboo, is also being cut down for development. It is not possible to have an increase in population in pandas if there is not enough food to support them. Another reason is that they have a very low birth rate. Only one cub (somtimes two) are born every year (if there's a second cub, one usually dies because the mother is only capable of caring for one). Poaching has also been a problem since early times. The panda was hunted for it's soft fur and there was a great demand for it during the Cultural Revolution.

Poaching eventually stopped and action has been taken to save these adored animals. By the end of 2006, there were around 40-50 panda reserves compared with around 15 a dew decades ago. Panda conservers are also making sure that every cub born stays healthy and grows up to be able to live in the wild.

Urban development is a conflict of interest to preserving habitats in China. The rapidly increasing population requires more flats to be built, but by destroying forests, more species will be endangered like the Giant Panda. But the Giant Panda is a valued species in China and parts of the environment have been put aside for them to live freely in.

I believe the best way to save this endangered species is to limit urban development and make sure habitats and ecosystems are not destroyed. To repopulate endangered species, they should be kept in a safe environment similar to the one in the wild so they don't lose their natural abilities. once population has increased, they should be released back into their natural habitat. Sending them overseas to climates which they are not familiar with isn't a very good idea because it decreases their chance of survival, but putting them in zoos, reserves or any other place where protection is garunteed should be ok.