Special Investigation
Sustainability. Endangered Species. Giant Pandas by Matthew H & Stephanie B
by Year 6 (6)

We will starve if we don't have Bamboo! Giant Pandas Giant pandas are extremely rare and there are less than 1,000 left living in the wild. Humans were killing pandas but it has now been banned. The destruction of the giant pandas habitat is when areas are cleared for crop cultivation. This is one of the main reasons for the panda's decline. One of the other reasons is because panda's food source (bamboo) is dying away. Pandas find it difficult to migrate to new feeding areas because they find themselves hemmed in by human settlements. The pandas starve because the bamboo is dying out. Twelve panda sanctuaries have been built in China and can accommodate 500 to 600 pandas. The largest reserve is 2000 square kilometres and has 100 pandas. Plans are in place to link the reserves with bamboo corridors to let the pandas migrate from one to place to the other. Chinese and American scientists are studying giant pandas and their habitats to plan a conservation programme. Zoos around the world are taking part in breeding pandas. There is still hope for pandas, with humans helping them survive in the wild. Matthew