An extimated 1600 pandas live in the wild and some 221 were reported to live in captivity at the end of 2006 in China. Why does this Specie face the danger of extinction ?
2007-06-20 10:24:25 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Lack of genetic diversity. Within a few generations, inbreeding will be a problem and genetic problems will not be "diluted" out, as they would be if mating had occurred between unrelated Pandas.
2007-06-20 10:30:33 · answer #1 · answered by Labsci 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They reproduce very slowly and require very specific habitats to live in the wild. The danger of extinction is probably more for "in the wild" than in zoos. The advantage of protecting animals in their natural habitat is that it protects so much more, too. Many other smaller, unknown species get protected at the same time. Not to mention the watersheds, overall biodiversity, etc. It is probably headed for extinction because it's habitat is disappearing. I don't think that only surviving in zoos is such a good thing for the long term. Also, of course, small populations (especially zoos, but also in the wild) have a very reduced genetic diversity which makes the species very vulnerable to things like climate change!
2007-06-20 17:31:36 · answer #2 · answered by BandEB 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They mostly feed on only bamboo shoot, and they eat a lot of those at a constant rate (20-30 lbs a day).
Besides running out of food and natural habitat (they can only survive at a specific low temperature), they're solitairy animals who live in mountains, so the chance of them meeting another panda in the wild is rare.
Their birthrate is very low, about once every yr and the female panda is only fertile for 2-3 days. And when they give birth, usually only one cub survives (they usually give birth to one cub, sometimes twins, but the weaker twins dies eventually). A lot of times, the young cubs are squished to death by their mother by accident (they constantly hold them, and unexperienced mothers will not know how to take care of them).
Panda cubs are born really tiny, hairless, blind, & helpless. It takes a lot of effort for the mom to care for it. Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years.
The abandoned twins usually don't survive in capitivies either (raise by human). It has gotten a little better recently, as scientists recently started to discover the best milk formula for the cubs to survive.
Being a Chinese myself, I love our national treasure (the giant panda). I hope that they won't become extinct. >_<
2007-06-20 18:19:05 · answer #3 · answered by Eleckid 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋