Abandon the pandas?

[tobes01]

Interesting thought from wildlife presenter Chris Packham: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/22/panda_death/

If the pandas are soaking up too much conservation cash when they've gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac, there's a case to argue for letting them go. Not a very pleasant case, but it has some legitimacy...

 

[spamel]

Very interesting! He has a point, doesn't he? They don't reproduce at the best of times, they are basically just a little bit crap! It's big news when pandas give birth because they don't seem to be able to do it so well. It is a shame to see any creature become extinct, but when all of man's intervention to prevent that is failing, what more can be done? It could free up a lot of money to save another species that is in danger of becoming extinct yet has an interest in the opposite sex!

Edit to say: I understand the initial problem is man made, but there's not much that can be done about that now. Trying to restore habitat should be a priority, but from what I gather, pandas are solitary creatures and their species depends on a chance encounter between two pandas who have a small spark of sex drive left in them. Let's be fair, it's no wonder their numbers have crashed to almost zero!

 

[sapper1]

I seems to me to be fighting for a lost cause,and as with all lost causes ,it is lost.
It's always sad to see a species disappear but thats called evolution .Man has evolved to the position where he is capable of wiping out whole species,much the same as some bacteria a viruses.
Maybe it's time to wave them off and spend the money looking after things that mean something like cutting crime ,heart research,cancer research or evenworld famine.
Lets get our priorities right for a change,there are more important things that CAN be sorted out .

 

[Shewie]

Not sure which side of the fence to take on this one, it's sad to say let's leave them to peter out but at the same time I'm sure everything has been done that's humanly possible.

Sad times indeed when we have to make these kinds of decisions

 

[spamel]

Not sure which side of the fence to take on this one, it's sad to say let's leave them to peter out but at the same time I'm sure everything has been done that's humanly possible.

Sad times indeed when we have to make these kinds of decisions

True, but what can we do? Put them on IVF treatment indefinitely? To my mind, they aren't fulfilling a role in nature and as callous as it sounds it seems the only reason intervention is continuing is so that there is a cuddly black and white fur ball in the local zoo! Sorry pandas, but if you had a bit of viagra in your diet you may not have the woes you are having now!

 

[Shewie]

Maybe a trip to Amsterdam to take in a few "shows" might help ?

 

[spamel]

Maybe a trip to Amsterdam to take in a few "shows" might help ?

Actually, believe it or not they did try showing pandas erotic movies to get them going. I can only assume it failed!

 

[tobes01]

Actually, believe it or not they did try showing pandas erotic movies to get them going. I can only assume it failed!

What sort of weirdo goes round making panda p*rn? Surely there can't be much of a market for that?!

 

[Tengu]

They are not useful, save in the role of ambassadors.

Im not at all sure what role that pandas perform in the Chinese Foreign office; They are picky eaters, shed hair all over the Embassy, have uncertain temprements, and even though they have thumbs, cannot type.

Best to spend the money on a useful animal, say the Pygmy Hog.

A cute, cuddly, edible creature that in the limited experiments, thrives in captivity.

You may also put them in Embassies.

 

[EdS]

spend the money where it is really needed - honey bees.

 

[spamel]

I expected there to be uproar about this, but the consensus so far is that panda bears are only slightly more useful then a smack head!

 

[locum76]

There's an equally valid argument against a lot of rare breed farm animals too. The reason the breeds are rare is because they are difficult to breed and therefore uneconomical.

 

[Melonfish]

i reckon we follow reg's advice and eat em now while the eatings good.
Panda burger anyone?

i have got to admit tho, we do pour money into a creature they to be fair without mans intervention would in fact die out of its own accord, there's no point in spending money that can be better suited spent on other endangered species that can be saved and are only suffering because of man.

i suppose we could always fit viagra machines next to bamboo patches as a last effort?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I would rather see efforts go towards tigers and Amur leopards than Pandas, at least the cats are reasonably adaptable.

Even better to spend the money on bee research.

While I am sure that some rare-breeds are hard to breed, I thought that one of the main reasons that they are now rare is that new breeds that suit modern farmin methods have become more popular and if almost no one is raising them on farms, they become rare. Possibly worth conserving because some of the earlier breeds can prove hardier than more current, fast growing, over long, too-fat or too-lean versions.

 

[VirusKiller]

We shouldn't prioritize saving particular species because they look cute on TV...

 

[sapper1]

When it comes to rare breeds,if they tasted good they wouldn't be rare.Pandas must taste bad wheras cow tastes good and look how many of them we have left.

 

[leon-1]

I think we should look more toward the animals that live on our own shores before we start looking at panda's and the like.

For those that don't know there are fewer than 3,000 Dartmoor ponies left. In 1950 there were believed to have been in excess of 30,000.

Hoof-prints found on Dartmoor during an archaeological excavation in the 1970s show that domesticated ponies were to be found there around 3,500 years ago and the first written record of ponies on Dartmoor occurs in AD 1012, with a reference to the ‘wild horses’ of Ashburton, owned by the Bishop of Crediton.

 

[hog]

Packham should be flogged and then fired so high his feet land miles away from any wildlife, a liability, no less.

 

[spamel]

Packham should be flogged and then fired so high his feet land miles away from any wildlife, a liability, no less.

I disagree. Other animals are becoming extinct that could benefit from the funding. Pandas are a lost cause.

 

[BigShot]

Panda porn...
I heard about that a while back. Apparently when they showed pandas footage of other pandas mating they showed increased sexual appetite. That's all I know about it as I heard a brief snippet on the news before turning the radio off to wait for the news to finish.

When it comes to rare breeds,if they tasted good they wouldn't be rare.Pandas must taste bad wheras cow tastes good and look how many of them we have left.

I disagree.

Large scale farming is geared to supermarkets. Quick to reach slaughter, bland uninteresting products that look good on the shelf and last.

Take pretty much anything you find in a supermarket and you'll be about 99%* sure to find a rarer variety that tastes about 500%* better.

We're right to save the rare breeds.

That is, unless you're only talking about panda vs cow rather than cow breed A vs cow breed B.


* These stats are completely made up... but I'm sure you'd guessed that.