This week on Sunday we celebrate National Panda Day. What’s the aim of the day? To promote efforts to preserve their habitat from threats such as urbanization and climate change. Hopefully this aim will then turn into support of their protection all around the world. Giant panda numbers are gradually starting to increase again thanks to decades of conservation work, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgrading the species from endangered to vulnerable in 2016. Although sadly it isn’t the same for the red panda numbers, as in recent years they have been upgraded from vulnerable to endangered meaning they are more endangered than giant pandas.
You might think that both giant and red pandas are closely related as they are both called pandas, but they are not related. Giant pandas are a species of bear whereas red pandas are a completely different family and the only living members of their family group. Most recent genetic research places red pandas in their own independent family, Ailuridae. However molecular phylogenetic studies show that red pandas are an ancient species in the order Carnivora. The closest living relatives to the red panda are the mustelids, this includes animals such as otters, weasels, badgers and skunks. Both species also have something called a false thumb which is an extension of their wrist bone that helps them to grip their similarly favourite food, bamboo!
Giant pandas are quite rare to see in captivity, especially ones outside of China, so I’m going to mainly focus on red pandas (sorry giant panda lovers). For many obvious reasons I also think red pandas are better and I don’t think this species gets enough awareness spread about them. At the park we are currently home to 2 red pandas; our female, Mai Xlang and our male, Kai. Mai was born in 2013 at Colchester Zoo and is the older of the pair and Kai was born in 2021 at Blackpool Zoo.
As I mentioned earlier, they are becoming more endangered with wild population estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and inbreeding depression. Being a umbrella species, efforts to preserve them and improve their surroundings and well-being have a positive but indirect effect on other creatures inhabiting the same environment. Conservationists use the species welfare as an indicator for the overall success of ecosystems in the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf Forest. Other animals that reap conservation efforts from the panda include hundreds of birds species, leopards, yellow throated martens and many of these animals are unique to red panda habitat. They are important to their ecosystem because their activities contribute to healthier forests, these beautiful creatures have just as much right to live on this planet undisturbed as we humans do.
How do our pandas help towards conservation? Well our pair are on the European studbook, this helps zoos ensure that the animals which they keep and breed remain of the highest possible genetic calibre. Through working closely with other zoos and organisations, sharing information and adhering to breeding recommendations we can help make a positive impact on the captive population of a number of endangered species. The most common of these programs are the European Endangered Species Programs (EEP), European Studbooks (ESB) and International Studbooks (ISB). At present we are working with the following 21 managed programs (7 x ESB species & 14 x EEP species). Usually solitary animals in the wild but due to them both being on the EEP there is a requirement for them being together as genetically they are a good match for each other. In 2021 there were 188 males and 228 females with a total of 416 individual red pandas present in EAZA Zoos. To end my blog I will leave you with a few fun facts on giant and red pandas.
- The Giant panda’s scientific name, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which means black and white cat-foot.
- Baby Giant pandas are born pink and measure about 15cm, also born blind and open their eyes six to eight weeks after birth.
- Red pandas can poo the equivalent of their body weight in one week.
- The Chinese word for Red Panda is hun-ho, meaning fire fox.
- How do Pandas scare each other?…..by saying bam-boo!
