Protecting the Giant Pandas

There is a real danger that some day, maybe soon,there might

be no more pandas in the world. They might become extinct.

Gone forever. Can we keep this from happening?

The Chinese have led the fightto save the pandas. First,they

set aside large areas as panda reserves. The reserves cover one

and a half million acres. Then special laws were passed.Anyone

killing a panda, even accidentally, gets a two-year jail sentence.

Anyone who helps save a panda gets a large reward. Still, the

number of pandas keeps dropping.

One big problem is their food supply. Bamboo grows in cycles—

at regular intervals offrom twenty to 100 years, a particular bam-

boo species will flower. Then suddenly, every single plant ofthat

species dies at the same time. This means that for about a year

there is very little for pandas to eat.

There are three species of bamboo inpanda country—umbrella,

fountain, and arrow bamboo. In the 1970s and early 1980s, two

of these had “die-offs.” Over entire mountainsides, there was

hardly any bamboo. During die-offs long ago, pandas would roam

to where different types of bamboo still grew. But now, when

they roam, they don’t find bamboo. They often find farms and

villages instead.

The pandas began to starve. Emergency food drops of yams

and grain were made by helicopter. Rescue teams searched the

mountains for starving pandas, carried them down, fed them,

and kept them in holding areas till they were ready for release.

The World Wildlife Fund is an organization that helps endan-

geredwildlife.This groupisworkingwiththeChinese government

to help save the pandas.

In the Wolong Reserve, in Sichuan Province in central China,

they set up a panda breeding station and research center. Higher

in the mountains some experts are studying pandas in the wild.

The more we know ofthe habitats and needs of pandas,the better

chance we have of figuring out how we can save them.

One plan is to plant additional kinds of bamboo. Then, when

one species dies out,the pandas can eatthe others. Some experts

think thatthe different reserves should be linked together. Then

pandas could roam freely from one to the other if they need to,

for breeding or food-finding. (Now the reserves are separated.)

The cutting down of trees on reserves should also be stopped.

Scientists from many countries are helping in the panda

project. Will it work? In years to come, will there still be

pandas wandering through the forests?

We hope so.