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The Endangered Giant Panda. By: Janie Klapko. My Focus. Reproductive methods used to increase the giant panda population Past Present Future. Background Information. The giant p anda has been termed a “critically endangered species” ( Pérez - Garnel )
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The Endangered Giant Panda By: Janie Klapko
My Focus • Reproductive methods used to increase the giant panda population • Past • Present • Future
Background Information • The giant panda has been termed a “critically endangered species” (Pérez-Garnel) • Only about 1,000 pandas live in the wild today, with approximately 100-200 living in captivation. • Approaches for increasing the giant panda population: • Captive (“Natural”) Breeding • Artificial Insemination/In Vitro Fertilization • Habitat Rehabilitation • Poaching/Trading Laws
Factors Leading to Endangerment • Poaching/Trading • Due to popularity of animal • Habitat Destruction • Commercial logging • Famine due to the constant rise and fall of available of bamboo. • First recorded: 1974-1976 • Bad Immune System • Reproductive Issues
Reproductive Complications • Females have only one 1-3 day period to conceive per year. • Don’t even begin to reproduce until approximately 5-6 years old. • Subsequent Embryonic Loss • Lack of male/female contact in wild—due to decreased population • Crushing young: Large mother-to- baby size ratio • Low birth weight • Slow growth rate “Both female and male captive giant pandas exhibit reproductive problems, and breeding [the] giant panda in captivity has proved to [be] difficult” --Ming-Juan Liao
Previous Attempts at Reproduction • Natural Reproduction in Captivity • Hard to achieve right timing because of small frame of opportunity to reproduce • Artificial Insemination (AI) • Extracting sperm from males • Use of Exogenous Gonadotropins • Increased ovulation • In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) • Invasive to males and females
Debate on IVF • Should focus on improving habitat only • Dangerous • Panda too valuable • Expensive “Fertilization biologist Chen Dayuan, of the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says it is ‘neither practical nor helpful’ as a way to increase the number of pandas”(Meiyue)
Tentative Argument • I think further research needs to be done on how to reproduce pandas naturally, because this will be the safest, and less expensive approach. • If artificial methods must be used, they should test more trials on animals that are not endangered.
Works Cited (Scholarly Sources) • Gittleman, John. "Are the Pandas Successful Specialists Or Evolutionary Failures?" Bioscience 44.7 (1994): 456. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. • Kersey, David C., et al. “Unique biphasic progestagen profile in parturient and non-parturient giant pandas (Ailuropodamelanoleuca) as determined by faecal hormone monitoring.” The Journal of the Society for Reproduction and Fertility (2010): 183-193. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. • Liao, Ming-Juan, et al. “Cloning and sequence analysis of FSH and LH in the giant panda (Ailuropodamelanoleuca).” Animal Reproduction Science 77 (2003): 107-116. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. • Meiyue, Z. “IVF project stirs debate over how to preserve pandas.” Science 272 (1996):1580. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. • Pérez-Garnelo, Sonia S., et al. "Characteristics and in vitro fertilizing ability of giant panda (Ailuropodamelanoleuca) frozen-thawed epididymal spermatozoa obtained 4 hours postmortem: A case report.” Zoo Biology. Vol. 23. New York, NY: Wiley-Liss. 279-85. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
Works Cited (Other Sources) • Ashley, Sabrina. "What Is Difference Between In Vitro and Artificial Insemination?”eHow. Demand Media, Inc. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.<http://www.ehow.com/about_4673493_difference-between-vitro-artificialinsemination.html>. • Ming'ai, Zhang, and He Shan. "A 20-year History of the Giant Panda” China.org.cn. Ching.org.cn, 26 Nov. 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.<http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/233213.htm>. • "WWF - Giant Panda - Overview." World Wildlife Fund – Wildlife Conservation,Endangered Species Conservation. World Wildlife Fund, 2011. Web. 9 Nov.2011.<http://www.worldwildlife.orgspecies/findergiantpandapanda.html>.