Why pandas should be extinct

The classification was downgraded as their number in the wild has reached 1, Experts say that the country managed to save its iconic animal through its long-term conservation efforts, including the expansion of habitats. China considers pandas a national treasure, but have also loaned them to other countries as diplomatic tools. The latest classification upgrade "reflects their improved living conditions and China's efforts in keeping their habitats integrated", said Cui Shuhong, head of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation at a news conference.

The new classification comes years after the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN had already removed the animal from its endangered species list and re-labelled it as "vulnerable" in At the time, however, Chinese officials had disputed the decision, saying that it could mislead people into believing that conservation efforts could be relaxed.

This week's announcement by China's environmental ministry is the first time the animal's status was changed on its own endangered species list, which uses similar standards as the Swiss-based IUCN. Quizzes and puzzles. Have we turned a Covid corner? Penguin arrives in New Zealand after epic journey.

Tall Tales. Popular articles. What do the different coloured poppies mean? And not just the black-and-white, roly-poly creatures we know today, but another, previously unknown lineage of giant panda bears as well. In a paper published Monday June 18 in Current Biology, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences upend the prevailing theory that pandas evolved from other bears some 20 million years ago.

They compared DNA from this skull—which was the oldest remnant of an ancient panda bear found to date—to the DNA of modern pandas and 32 samples of other ancient bears. They concluded that some , years ago, a common Ursus ancestor split off into two lineages: the modern day panda bear, and this other ancient animal. The skull gives researchers a rare glimpse into the history of these bamboo-loving floofers, and of bears in general.

But…who cares where pandas have been? Perhaps more importantly, why are we trying so hard to keep them alive? This is a subject that has been of sustained and passionate debate among the Quartz science team since its formation.

We decided to use this study as a launching pad to finally crystallize these arguments, which, though superficially silly, actually have import for larger questions about conservation and environmentalism. Pandas are, at best, cute doofuses who lumber and roll around snacking on some 40 pounds of bamboo daily. Their bodies are ill-equipped to handle the highly fibrous nature of bamboo, but they insist they love the stuff.

You could argue that humans are not exactly biologically disposed to eat everything that we do, either—does anyone really need fried Oreos? Evolution itself has made it difficult for pandas to keep populating the planet. Pandas in the wild have a mating ritual that goes on for weeks, despite the fact that females are only fertile a few days per year.

She then has to take a bit of a leadership role to position herself to be inseminated, because male pandas have evolved to have some of the smallest penises relative to their bodies of other animals on the planet. Humans have made it harder for pandas to get it on by fragmenting their natural habitats with road construction, deforestation , and the effects of climate change.

But even in captivity, where some of these barriers should be eliminated, pandas have a hard time mating. And if a panda does manage to get pregnant, she normally has one cub at a time, which emerges from the womb only weighing less than a pound —one of the smallest offspring compared to parent size. At this point, pandas are mostly just a symbol of diplomacy and goodwill between China and the foreign countries that keep pandas in their zoos.

Similar to white sharks , pandas prefer an open environment where they can roam freely.