Adelaide Zoo Giant Pandas for Adelaide

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
 
patrick said:
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?
Click to expand...

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!
 
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..........
 
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.
 
Ara said:
..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?"
Click to expand...

How fair dinkum is ANY governemt about habitat/rainforest conservation?

fortunately funding conservation projects overseas doesn't mean you simply hand over money to another nations government!!!!

Instead the money is usually granted to an NGO that is involved in conservation initiatives. for example Zoos Victoria donates to Southeast Asia specific projects managed by Flora and Fauna International.
 
with trade relations between oz and becoming increasingly strong i guess it was only a matter of time before giant pandas were granted to an australian zoo. i guess it just a matter of seperating the retoric from the fact.
i mean, in all seriousness, these pandas represent the breaking down of trade barriers....not so much conservation. but at least once they get here i trust adeliade zoo will use them as a conservation tool...
 
Ara said:
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.
Click to expand...

Like pat said, you associate yourself as a conservation zoo with an NGO (the Kalaweit Trust) or an Indonesian partner organisation (Yayasan Badak Indonesia). I have mentioned in my assessment of the China panda deal several other NGO's that warrant financial assistance from foreign zoos.

I do hope that ARAZPA will somehow set up a working relationship with PKBSI (the Indonesian zoo association) to both influence in situ conservation and development of their zoos. The best among these is Taman Safari Indonesia in Bogor. The commitment would require investment of 1,000.000 each year. That coupled with more federal government sponsored in situ conservation projects in specific parts of Indonesia would make so much of a difference!

Fortunately, the present government includes the first decent Minister for the Environment, but his political clout needs to grow to make a meaningful impact. It is in this light that Ozzie zoo support for in situ conservation would be welcome indeed.
 
ARAZPA has been slowly forging closer bonds with SEAZA as far as i know, and we can probably see this reflected in the high level of animal trade between australian zoos and one of the only decent zoos in southeast asia, singapore.

i agree that its very important, due to our location geographically, the severity of the situation with southeast asia's wildlife, and our identified priority for SE asian conservation after our own, that australian zoos definately forge close working and supporting bonds with the better of the SE asian regions zoos.
 
I notice you use the term "better of the SE asian regions zoos." What are the Indonesian zoos like? Good? Bad? Ugly? Any chance of getting some fresh Sumatran tiger blood from them?
 
Jumping in late on the conversation but I can't see a way that these Pandas won't turn out to be Adelaide Zoos 'White Elephant'.

To start with the long term timeframe means that there is no urgency for interstate visitors to see them. This is unlike the massive visitation that accompanied the Pandas short term stays at Taronga and Melbourne Zoo in the 80s. Secondly the amount of keeper time and money allocated to the project will be enormous for limited return.

Thirdly they will surely take visitation, therefore money, away from Monarto which should be the South Australian zoo of the future.

Finally I cant believe that the government (Federal or State - does anyone know) is spending $1 million a year to keep Panda's in Australia. We have native species such as the Tassie Devil, which gets no government support, that could do with the funding!
 
im quietly confident that the pandas will be fine.
i think....
a-zoo visitation will increase dramatically then plane off but be above average
b-there will be short term and long term gains for South Australia's tourism industry. i mean, these guys must be rubbing their hands together. you would get sick of promoting churches, wine and McLeods Daughters
c-adelaide zoo probably wont make any groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs. but they may breed a panda or two, send some money to china, and importantly, the extra money from visitors, which may offset the loan fee which is, i understand, being waived by the Fed Govt, can be redirected to improving the zoo and focusing on other conservation programs. extra reveune could be ploughed back into the breeding program for the many species focused on by Zoos SA
d-finally im pleased for Adelaide Zoo. they dont have gorillas, elephant, rhino, giraffe or hippo (soon). they do have a superb asian rainforest and they have an extensive conservation portfolio relative to their size and organisational capacity. so having pandas is a well earned coup
e-and finally, i dont like Queensland. id rather catch my carbon neautral train from sydney to melbourne to adelaide than cross the northern border into QLD anyday
 
Pandas

Still do not be surprised if Currumbin also gets Pandas in the not too distant future. Then maybe you can visit Queensland.
 
hang on, the chinese want them to go to adelaide as a gift for mr. downer, so what ever is done, sorry i beleive they will go to adelaide, the ones from the woolong or what ever cetre.

the other pandas are from a amusment park zoo, so there really is 2 totally difernt deals being done in my opinion, but the likely hood of a second going through is open to everyone to argue, basically i think adelaide will get 2 defintally, but whther the other currumbin get some, well that will just be 2 pairs in the region.
 
oh zooboy, you are a master at stating the obvious and missing the point. :)

nobody here is suggesting that the two pandas destined for adelaide will not go to adelaide. its a done deal. concrete. it has and never had anything to do with the currumbin deal. nothing whatsoever.

as for A SECOND pair of pandas going to a private native wildlife park in queensland, yes, as you say thats open to debate. i for one think its ludicrous to expect they'll get some.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top