Giant Pandas for Adelaide » Adelaide Zoo

07-09-2007

I can assure you, seeing photos or film of Giant Pandas is more interesting than the real thing... unlwess you happen to be around at feeding time. Otherwise its mostly sleep,sleep, sleep.

But I know zoo-goers the World over always want to see any high profile species for themselves 'in the flesh' and I'm no different...

07-09-2007

And gosh is the baby that is being handraised cute like a really really dark tammar.

07-09-2007

i dont think its much of a surprise that A credible zoo at least experienced with bears got the giant pandas granted to them. as i said about the gold coast dream, its a big jump from wallabies and echidnas to dealing with one of the worlds most endangered and exotic animals.
now we just have to wait and see if it happens, and hope it turns out. just a zoobeat behavioural things or two...taronga and melbourne rivalry always seems to equal glyn and pat having a state of origin type battle, critics of dubbo zoo always result in zooboy defending dubbo, outlandish and stupid comments are always tempered by zoopro, all discussions inevitably end back at elephants (see i jst said elephant on a giant panda thread) and so far every time we talk about giant pandas it get nasty.
peace out peoples haha

07-09-2007

if i was A GIANT PANDA id rather live in south australia so i didnt have to wear fake tan and get fake boobs to fit in on the gold coast

07-09-2007

How does a thead about one of the cutiest animals turn nasty?

I hope they get them, but it would be much better if the chinese government would review the loan agreement (a lower cost) or just for zoo's that already have them like san diego so they keep their proud tradition.

07-09-2007

haha you werent around for that one.

10-09-2007

ha ha. ain't that the truth.

like most of us i found it very unlikely that currumbin were ever to get their pandas, especially now that adelaide has already secured themselves some.
i find it hilarious that they unashamedly turn to paying out on adelaide and saying people would rather go to the gold coast. in all my life i have not met one single person who hasn't said the gold coast is a major s***hole!!!

and currumbin is a private business too! i just think they were way kidding themselves...

i don't much care if the zoo or the federal government pays the money, its an aweful lot for simply a bit of prestige.

personally, i'm much more concerned with the state of the rainforest in indonesia than i am with preserving the panda. because the panda already has a huge profile. their is also obviously a massive initiative WITHIN china to breed captive pandas. therfore the problem to me is that teh panda needs more habitat, and thats up to the chinese government to take care of.

does anyone else think it seems odd that people rent pandas of the chinese government in the name of conservation when it is the government themselves that are in charge of conserving it?

now i'm not saying the that the chinese should start giving away pandas to zoos again either, that's of even littler benefit, but (and feel free to correct me here) isn't the giant panda at one of those points now where the only thing holding it back is lack of habitat?

10-09-2007

Just remember adelaide isnt government, nor is it private, its a board run zoo - and as far as i am concerned that makes it a private zoo - even if no ones makes a profit!

Would you be saying that if mogo were to get them, a zoo with lots of experince in carnivores aswell?

10-09-2007

As f I know the remaining Panda habitat is actually overcrowed with the animals. So Pat you are right, what they really need is more habitat. Nor do the Chinese govt\. seem to have trouble breeding their captiove bears.
This would be great oppurtunity to showcase some of the other animals that live in the Pandas habitat. After all there must be something else living in those forsts and I could probably guarentee that many of them are endangered as well.

10-09-2007

yes as ben said adelaide is private, so is currumbin, the big difference is that currumbin would have been paying it all it self, were as adlaide is reciving govt help! adealdie is paying from what i see is it as is keeping costs, and eeding, not exhibit, and not tyhe loan fees, currumbin would have been paying those!

10-09-2007

i think adelaide zoo's experince with endangered red pandas, larg carnivores and bears makes it the ideal Australian candidate to hold this species.
currumbin sanctuary does lots of good work, but Adelaide's portfolio is quite extensive for its size, and i think thes epandas are good for boosting the zoos profile and attendance. its also good for adelaide in the sense that they now have a 'star attraction', in so far that before hand melbourne, perth and taronga all had something unique but adelaide seemed a little bit behind.
and at least now not everyone will be complaining all zoos look the same. additionally, giant pandas (along with polar bears and probably african elephants) are one of very few exceptions to regional planning goals im inclined to agree with because, like it or not, these species attract more people to the zoo, therefore not compromising other PMP through cost-cutting.
its also good to see giant pandas becoming a bit more common in the world zoo market, but as pat said, only habitat protection can save it now

11-09-2007

absolutely.

12-09-2007

patrick,

As you said, feel free to fall in ... and I will take you up on that. I agree with you that panda loan agreements are an odd bunch. What does the zoo get in return for supporting a chunk of in situ conservation? Prestige and exposure as a conservation minded zoo. That is about it I guess ....!

From what I gather zoos with giant pandas are closley involved in scientific research on giant panda breeding and ecology. The Chinese have actually now taken both to a high scientific level. AI has been widely used as a conservation tool to rapidly increase giant panda numbers and last year alone 34 cubs were born (with 30 surviving).

In train with raising the captive birth rate, the Chinese have expanded the area protected for giant pandas over the last few years from 1 in 1963 to 40 today. Much effort has been put into providing corridors between different panda populations to promote genetic mixing of populations. In fact the wild giant panda population is expanding by each year now (I could not find the article that put the actual figure anymore, but will try to locate it) and has reached 1,590 individuals.

Ecological research was first undertaken in some 30 years ago by Chinese researchers at Wolong Reserve. Later ecological and habitat research was extended to other panda reserves and a joint Chino-British research team has determined by DNA scat analysis that panda numbers at the Wanglang Reserve are actually double as previously thought (extrapolation of this research to all panda habits increases the number of pandas to 3,000). Chinese researchers have also determined that Sichuan province pandas and those from the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi are genetically distinct subspecies.

The captive giant panda population now numbers 214 and the birthing season has just started in May 2007. Staff from captive-breeding centers are now increasingly studying the possibilities of strenghtening wild populations with captive-born animals. A first trial release of a male started in 2006.

Anyhow, what I am saying is that the Chinese were already investing heavily in species protection before the panda loans came into effect. With the extra millions China has made a huge leap in conservation breeding and science and the future of the panda (along with the takin, snub-nosed monkey, eared pheasants, cranes) looks increasingly secure. China shows a willingness to better itself and has very strict endemic wildlife laws (panda poaching is equivalent to 20 years in jail).

Be the above as it may, I agree with you totally that we should not forget to invest in tropical rainforest conservation in Indonesia. If the same amount of funds were applied in Indonesia, the situation with illegal logging, peat bog clearing for palm oil plantations and widespread wildlife poaching and habitat enchroachment (even in designated protected areas) would be altered dramatically. Now Indonesian authorities themselves must get serious on conservation here!

The WWF Heart of Borneo initiative, the Paguyaman NGO in Sulawesi, the rhino protection squads in Sumatra, orang conservation in Aceh, the Kalaweit gibbon rehabilitation ... I could go on and on what needs major funding from the Oz region and elsewhere (get your wallets out EU and US!)

I will leave it at that for the moment .. pat!

12-09-2007

thanks for the response jelle,

admittedly the panda bear is one species that i have never taken a large amount of interest in, most probably simply because so many others seem to be.

The rainforests of Indonesia are on their way to being the first mega-bioshere to disappear in our lifetime, and it will indeed disapper in our lifetime. Australiasian zoos identified southeast asian conservation, with good reason to be the number one priority after the conservation of our own species. It thus annoys me that around $20 million dollars has been spent by our government on taking up a battle that is not only already being taken care of by its own governemnt, but numerous other high profile oginisations and zoos as well.

imagine how far $20 million would go for sumatran rhinos..........

12-09-2007

Pardon my ignorance, but how fair dinkum is the Indonesian government when it comes to habitat protection/rainforest conservation?

Are they just looking for a financial handout? Would the money be used properly or would it just "disappear?"

What's happening in Indonesia is a tragedy beyond our understanding.