Three provinces, Gansu, Shaanxi and primarily Sichuan, in western China are the only natural homes of the giant panda. Unfortunately, it is within this area that the predominant business and economic centers of the country lie, resulting in increased farming, forest clearing for infrastructure development and tourism. This loss of natural habitat has pushed the gentle giants high into the mountains. The misty, mountainous bamboo forests lie 4,000 to 11,000 feet above sea level, east of the Tibetan plateau. The upper stories of the forests are evergreen and coniferous, the lower layers are dense with bamboo growth.
The giant pandas are omnivorous and will eat rodents, birds and fish if they can catch them, but their flattened molars enable them to exist on a diet primarily of bamboo. Because of bamboo's low nutritional value, they must consume 20 to 40 pounds of it each day. Once they've consumed all the ripe bamboo in an area, they continually move on in small groups, making their "homes" an area of about 1,000 square miles. Some bamboo varieties flower at the same time, and when one area has been consumed it may be difficult to impossible to find another. Often this leads to long periods of starvation and death.
The Chinese government has established a conservation management plan for the giant panda. This includes completion of over 50 panda reserves in 2.5 million acres, management of bamboo growth, modification of forestry operations, control of poaching and the removal of human settlements. The reserves have breeding programs and assist with returning pandas to the wild.
In addition to habitat conservation, China participates in panda loan programs with zoos worldwide. A lease agreement allows foreign zoos to keep pandas from China for 10 years and then return them. The zoos are afforded an opportunity to display the pandas and hopefully breed them. In return, China receives $1 million per animal per year. If there are offspring, these, too, are the property of China and must return with the parents. The first two pandas in the United States were a diplomatic gift to President Nixon after a visit to China. This began the loan program, and since 1998, at least half of the money China earns from the program must go toward wild panda protection and habitat conservation there.
For thousands of years, the giant panda has existed in China. Sadly, only about 1,600 remain in the wild, and 160 in zoos around the world. The ability to study them has helped scientists slowly increase their numbers. For example, a mother will give birth to one or two pandas, however, she is only able to care for one. Handlers help by caring for one of the newborns and then switching it with the other every few days so both receive the care and nutrients from the mother. This alone has greatly increased the number of pandas surviving to adulthood. Offspring stay with their mothers until the age of 2 or 3, and are then on their own as the mother prepares to birth her next young. Programs like this, the panda reserves in China, the World Wildlife Foundation and general education about panda habitat will enable the survival of the species.
