Giant Pandas in America
Giant Pandas
The endangered bears, native to China, continue to evolve in their attempt to survive. However, the bamboo-eaters are more threatened today by population decline caused by human interaction and global climate changes than ever before. In order to save giant pandas, many zoos and organizations have taken on panda projects, both in China and abroad. Giant pandas are an international symbol of conservation, and the United States has eagerly embraced the need to save this rare and dying species from extinction; pandas have previously resided at 13 zoos across the nation, but now only four major zoos continue to develop successful programs to increase the panda’s chance of survival. Approximately 1600 wild pandas live in the mountains of southwest China where they are protected from poachers and hunters by the Chinese government. Giant pandas are a national treasure in China and are honored like gods (Pandas). Chinese leaders have given giant pandas as gifts to other countries since 685 A.D. when pandas were given to Japan as a sign of peace (Gish 29). However, pandas were not introduced to the western world until March of 1869 when French missionary Armand David sent a panda skeleton and pelt to a museum in Europe (WWF). On April 13, 1929 two pandas, shot by Theodore Roosevelt’s sons, were sent to Chicago’s Field Museum where they became the first pandas seen in America. The American public did not believe the “cute, cuddly animals” (WWF) deserved to be on display in museums and instead wanted to see them alive in zoos (Gish 29-30). In 1936, the American public got their wish; Ruth Harkness smuggled panda Su Lin out of China and into the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago (WWF). Su Lin, the first live panda in the western world, died in 1938 shortly after Mei Mei, another smuggled panda, was brought to America to keep her company. Mei Lan arrived in 1939 to keep Mei Mei company. The Bronx Zoo in New York also acquired four pandas during this time: Pandora in
The endangered bears, native to China, continue to evolve in their attempt to survive. However, the bamboo-eaters are more threatened today by population decline caused by human interaction and global climate changes than ever before. In order to save giant pandas, many zoos and organizations have taken on panda projects, both in China and abroad. Giant pandas are an international symbol of conservation, and the United States has eagerly embraced the need to save this rare and dying species from extinction; pandas have previously resided at 13 zoos across the nation, but now only four major zoos continue to develop successful programs to increase the panda’s chance of survival. Approximately 1600 wild pandas live in the mountains of southwest China where they are protected from poachers and hunters by the Chinese government. Giant pandas are a national treasure in China and are honored like gods (Pandas). Chinese leaders have given giant pandas as gifts to other countries since 685 A.D. when pandas were given to Japan as a sign of peace (Gish 29). However, pandas were not introduced to the western world until March of 1869 when French missionary Armand David sent a panda skeleton and pelt to a museum in Europe (WWF). On April 13, 1929 two pandas, shot by Theodore Roosevelt’s sons, were sent to Chicago’s Field Museum where they became the first pandas seen in America. The American public did not believe the “cute, cuddly animals” (WWF) deserved to be on display in museums and instead wanted to see them alive in zoos (Gish 29-30). In 1936, the American public got their wish; Ruth Harkness smuggled panda Su Lin out of China and into the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago (WWF). Su Lin, the first live panda in the western world, died in 1938 shortly after Mei Mei, another smuggled panda, was brought to America to keep her company. Mei Lan arrived in 1939 to keep Mei Mei company. The Bronx Zoo in New York also acquired four pandas during this time: Pandora in
Cited: "2012 Panda Updates." Giant Pandas. Smithsonian National Zoological Park, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. "Giant Pandas." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service International Affairs. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. Gish, Melissa Hatkoff, Juliana, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff. Panda Patrol: Caring for a Cub. New York: Scholastic, 2012. Print. "Meet Mei Xiang and Tian Tian." Meet the Zoo 's Giant Pandas. Smithsonian National Zoological Park, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. "Meet the Pandas." Zoo Atlanta "Meet the Pandas." San Diego Zoo. Zoological Society of San Diego, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. "Panda Loan Extension Granted to US." WantChinaTimes.com. Want China Times, 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. FONZ "Panda Zoos Around the World." Panda Zoos. WordPress, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. Pandas Tebben, Gerald. "Columbus Mileposts | June 5, 1992: Pair Caused 'panda-monium ' at the Columbus Zoo." The Columbus Dispatch. The Dispatch Printing Company, 5 June 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. "WWF - History of the Giant Panda." WWF