A Panda bear is one of the most common images representing Asian culture. If you walk down the Asian foods section of your local grocery store, you will find many products incorporating panda bears in their packaging and logos. Panda bears are one of the most well-known conservation-reliant vulnerable species. Its large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body has become recognizable worldwide. The adorable features of a cuddly Giant panda have become a symbol of “cuteness” in pop-culture. Many clothing brands, lifestyle brands, ect. have incorporated Panda Bear’s into their product designs, which has been well precepted by people worldwide.
Often seen in Chinese zoos, these SiChuan native creatures are rare and considered a national treasure to the Chinese people. With this being said, when one comes across a panda bear make sure to take many pictures and videos as not many people will see a Panda in their lifetime.
Although Panda bears are one of the busiest attractions in any zoo, they usually live very calm and tranquil lives. They are often found sleeping, chewing on bamboo, and enjoying solitary. Pandas are not sociable creatures, with social encounter’s limited to primarily during the brief breeding season. Differently from humans male pandas leave the females after mating to raise the cub alone.
Because of their preference of solitude, it seems like the panda population is going to take a hit. They seem to have lost interest in mating, which has caused much distress to the scientists who struggle to maintain the panda population. This has led to many extreme methods coercion such as showing them videos of giant pandas mating.
Photo citation: (n.d.). photograph. Retrieved from https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/sites/default/files/2017-04/animal-hero-panda3.jpg
—Lucy Ding