Problems With Endangerment Involving Pandas

Habitat Loss

One of the major threats to pandas is the loss of their natural habitat. The bamboo forest habitats in China that were once abundant have been significantly reduced in size for purposes such as agriculture and harvesting bamboo for human use. With a rapidly increasing population, China's bamboo forests have also been cut down for urbanization. A large portion of the bamboo forests of China also died off in the 1980s for reasons that are still not known. According to the United Nations, around 150 pandas died from starvation as a result of this. Bamboo forests are difficult to replace, as it takes around two decades for enough bamboo to grow to support a population of pandas.

For the purposes of feeding, pandas require large areas of habitat. One of the reasons for this is that areas of bamboo will die off periodically and take decades to grow back, meaning that the animals must move on to another area of forest to provide a new supply of food. Another reason that pandas need to live in large areas of bamboo growth is because of their specialized feeding habits. Pandas have developed features to help them eat bamboo such as strong, wide teeth and wrists that are adept at breaking and maneuvering the plant. However, bamboo provides only a small amount of the nutrients that a panda needs. This means that a panda has to eat around 28 pounds of bamboo for at least 12 hours a day in order to gain the energy it needs. Loss of bamboo forests threatens the panda, as it requires such a large amount of food every day.

Another problem that contributes to the endangerment of pandas is their low rate of reproduction. Pandas are solitary and must find a mate within a limited period of time, as the breeding season for a panda is very short. Female pandas are only on heat for a few days every spring. Male pandas have an acute sense of smell, which helps them to locate a female. Once pandas have mated, females give birth to one or two cubs after being pregnant for around five months. Here, a further obstacle threatens panda survival as the mother is only able to care for one of the panda cubs, contributing to the high mortality of these helpless infants.

The panda's rarity and attractive fur make it valuable to poachers. Although laws against poaching pandas threaten hunters with life sentences, there is still a black-market trade for its fur. Another threat is the accidental snaring of pandas in traps that hunters have laid for other animals such as deer that live in the same regions as the panda.