The San Diego Zoo is one of four American zoos with giant pandas. Did you know that giant pandas “are technically carnivores, but they have adapted to live mostly on bamboo?” The zoo’s web site has an outstanding page on the giant panda.
The modern world, with the explosion in the population of humans, has wreaked havoc on the habitats of others species. Consider that in 1800 there were about 900 million people on the planet, by 1900 the human population was 1.6 billion, and today our population is 6.7 billion. A natural outcome of this population growth is enormous pressure on other species.
Our local zoo is one of the best in the world and it includes one of the most advanced conservation programs anywhere: The Institute for Conservation Research. The Institute employs over 150 scientists, dedicated to conservation efforts around the world. Working to preserve endangered species is an overwhelming task, but our local team is known for their international leadership and expertise. An example of the San Diego team in action is when they developed a new milk formula for the giant pandas. Using the new formula, survival rates “of nursery-reared panda cubs in China went from zero percent to 95 percent.”
Consider a visit to the San Diego Zoo and get involved through volunteering, donating, attending their workshops, or a myriad of other ways.
Whether or not you can go to the zoo in the near term, you can get a better sense of this incredible institution through a PBS NATURE episode titled Animal Attractions: Amazing Tales from the San Diego Zoo.
Tags: California, Conservation, giant panda, Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo