Giant Panda Future in America

Hypothetical question: how would zoos be different today if the US had done a panda diplomacy scheme with plains bison and bald eagles back when they were highly endangered? Would zoos in Europe and Asia have been willing to pay to hold them on loan?
 
RatioTile said:
Hypothetical question: how would zoos be different today if the US had done a panda diplomacy scheme with plains bison and bald eagles back when they were highly endangered? Would zoos in Europe and Asia have been willing to pay to hold them on loan?
Click to expand...
Wouldn’t zoos outside North America just obtain their animals from Canada instead? Maybe keep wood bison instead of plains bison.
 
RatioTile said:
Hypothetical question: how would zoos be different today if the US had done a panda diplomacy scheme with plains bison and bald eagles back when they were highly endangered? Would zoos in Europe and Asia have been willing to pay to hold them on loan?
Click to expand...
Probably not, bison and eagles are not really super popular animals without easy stand in's. Bald eagles are cool, but the average public doesn't care what kind of eagle they are seeing, so large eagles like Stellars or Golden eagles are easy stand in. Not to mention they can be found elsewhere. The same goes for bison - stand in hoof stock are available elsewhere. Also hoof stock are not really super popular animals, hence the narrowing down of species we have seen in the USA/AZA.
 
DavidBrown said:
So...what is the species that will be replacing pandas? Another Asian bear species? Dholes? Red pandas? Animatronic pandas?
Click to expand...
The advertisement lists the below for available internships in different areas of the zoo, which implies some animals that are not there, if I understand correctly. Mind you, I have never been to the Memphis Zoo and the map online is especially lacking for animal locations in the zoo:

Aquarium and Herpetarium

Bird House

Cat Country & Zambezi (hippos, crocodiles, mandrills, okapi)

China (clouded leopards, Pere David deer, Sulawesi macaques, red pandas, various birds)

Farm

Giraffe run (giraffe, bongo, ostrich, red river hogs)

Northwest Passage/Teton Trek (Polar bears, grizzlies, black bears, sea lions, wolves, elk, birds)

Pachyderm (African elephants, white rhinos)

Primate Canyon
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
I know how insanely popular that pandas may be, but they're just too expensive to care for.
Click to expand...

Yes, several zoos said that pandas often cost more than they bring, so drain zoo finances. The details are scant, maybe even confidential because China fears that the panda rental business dries up. My understanding is that the price is essentially made up and flexible, because in Europe a small Ahtari zoo in sparsely populated Finland also got the pandas. It certainly would not hope to attract crows similar to big metropolies. It seems that the policy in Europe is to have one zoo in any geographic area to have pandas.

I remember the previous pandas at the Berlin Zoo, at the time when they were not advertised. Often there was nobody looking at them, because they were just another bears which slept lots of time. At one time, people ignored the pandas, and watched a keeper playing with two Geoffroy's cat cubs nearby, which looked exactly like common tabby cat kittens.

For me, pandas in a zoo are a sort of a castle built upon ice. Essentially, pandas are only special in zoo peoples minds. Zoos get people interested in pandas only when the zoos themselves convince people that pandas are special and make a media campaign advertising the pandas. A zoo could make the same publicity spin on many other big animals or exhibits. Baby tigers, elephant house, whatever.
 
I believe I've said this before, but I think more than anything if giant pandas are going to continue being in the US, they should be held by facilities that have the funds to house them for as long as they'd like. I'm cool with Memphis and Atlanta not having them as they both have enough to attract crowds, pandas would basically just guild the lily as far as those two zoos are concerned. As for National and San Diego, San Diego *still* has panda iconography in the airport and in general, and National's, well, National. That said, while San Diego does have enough to supplant not having pandas, National had their pandas at the center of the zoo - without them, it does feel like something major is missing. Especially considering that National's missing a bunch of other ABC animals (e.g. giraffes, rhinos, hippos, penguins, bats, etc.).

I'm merely spitballing here, it's been a long week - gotta love college.
 
Jurek7 said:
I remember the previous pandas at the Berlin Zoo, at the time when they were not advertised. Often there was nobody looking at them, because they were just another bears which slept lots of time. At one time, people ignored the pandas, and watched a keeper playing with two Geoffroy's cat cubs nearby, which looked exactly like common tabby cat kittens.

For me, pandas in a zoo are a sort of a castle built upon ice. Essentially, pandas are only special in zoo peoples minds. Zoos get people interested in pandas only when the zoos themselves convince people that pandas are special and make a media campaign advertising the pandas. A zoo could make the same publicity spin on many other big animals or exhibits. Baby tigers, elephant house, whatever.
Click to expand...

I think that’s partly up to how they are marketed by the Zoo though if im honest. Without question in all my years I’ve never seen reactions of amazement from people that I do at a panda enclosure, I am in the UK and referring to Edinburgh Zoo, but our pandas are going back too so it’s a fair comparison.

Lots of zoos have lions, meerkats , zebras etc but none of them in my view are really a “big draw” like a panda is, I think the fact that while they are no longer endangered they are clearly becoming increasingly rare in the western hemisphere which will only increase interest in the long term. Not least, that they are the very symbol of conservation that is in everyone’s minds.

I think sometimes pandas are almost a little underrated, partly because of bad publicity (such as in the case of Memphis) but, referring back to my first point - marketing on behalf of the zoo
The “general public” often aren’t aware of how pandas can act, for example at Edinburgh Zoo I notice how people tend to view them early on/midday when they are more often than not - asleep, which some people may potentially be dissapointed , yet in the later afternoon , at least the male one is often outside and the crowds have largely dispersed by then.

It could be argued that the last 20 years or so was a bit of a golden age for pandas in western zoos, which coincided politically with a golden age in relations between the west and China which has soured significantly since 2019 (starting with the Hong Kong protests, and of course the obvious more recently).
 
Last edited:
There's an interesting parallel here. Memphis Zoo can construct a net over this former Giant Panda exhibit to then house Clouded Leopards:

full


full


Photos by @geomorph

And when I visited Parken Zoo (Sweden) in the summer of 2022, their former Giant Panda exhibit also held Clouded Leopards. It's arguably a bigger, better space at that zoo then the somewhat average-sized Memphis setup.

full


full
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top