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Pull the plug on Pandas, declares BBC man

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Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010)

FarCenter

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:33 AM
Original message

Pull the plug on Pandas, declares BBC man

A BBC wildlife presenter has come off with a novel approach to saving the Giant Panda - don't bother.

Chris Packham, who is all set to present the BBC's flagship Autumnwatch program, said the cuddly but rather useless Asian bears, whose diet of bamboo shoots means they never store enough fat to hibernate properly, were soaking up conservation cash that could be better spent elsewhere.

"I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go, with a degree of dignity," the no-nonsense conservationist told Radio Times.

He condemned the ursine freeloaders as "T-shirt animals" saying "Here's a species that, of its own accord, has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It's not a strong species. Unfortunately, pandas are big and cute and a symbol of the World Wildlife Fund."

<SNIP>
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/22/panda_death/

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Mari333

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:35 AM
Response to Original message

1. better idea: pull the plug on the BBC man

more room , then, for the Pandas.

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damntexdem

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:56 AM
Response to Reply #1

13. Besides, pandas are cuter.

But we should retain a few "no-nonsense conservationists" in zoos for research purposes. ;-)

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Mari333

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #13

16. only if they are spayed first! nt

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FSogol

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:39 AM
Response to Original message

2. Pull the plug on Mankind, declares Panda

A Panda has come off with a novel approach to saving the humans - don't bother.

The Panda, who is all set to present the BBC's flagship Autumnwatch program, said the doughy but rather useless humans, whose diet of fast food and diet cokes means they never burn enough fat to be healthy, were soaking up conservation cash that could be better spent elsewhere.

"I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go, with a degree of dignity," the no-nonsense Panda told Radio Times.

He condemned the primate freeloaders as "T-shirt wearers" saying "Here's a species that, of its own accord, has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It's not a strong species. Unfortunately, humans are big and dumb and a symbol of Wal-Mart."

<SNIP>

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Mari333

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:42 AM
Response to Reply #2

11. +100000

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Sal Minella

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:40 AM
Response to Original message

3. I hope this guy is prepared

to have a wild assortment of things hurled at his head.

"Of its own accord" is an absurd phrase to use.

Individual pandas did not choose to eat bamboo: their failing the "survival of the fittest" test is due to inherited traits.

Whereas humans have failed the test because individual persons decide that "me having my own baby" takes precedence over "my species" (and all other species).

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GreenEyedLefty

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:47 AM
Response to Original message

4. Anyone actually read the article?

:)

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sharp_stick

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:59 AM
Response to Reply #4

6. I don't think they did n/t

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dionysus

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #6

9. funny how that is, innit?

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TheMadMonk

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:41 AM
Response to Reply #4

10. Obviously not. The guy makes a valid if heartless point.

What is spent on what is probably ultimately a futile attempt to save the pandas could well be better spent on keeping half a dozen less photogenic species from geting onto the critical list in the first place.

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damntexdem

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:05 PM
Response to Reply #10

15. And what makes you think that the money would be forthcoming to save those nonphotogenic species?

Without the donations, and political support for public programs, elicited with pictures of pandas, those other species would be allowed to die out without attention or resources.

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hatrack

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #10

18. W/O charismatic megafauna, private conservation funding gets a WHOLE lot harder

You have a good point regarding the need for protection for other vital species, but good luck funding such efforts in the absence of tigers, polar bears, whales and, yes, pandas.

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appal_jack

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Tue Sep-22-09 03:10 PM
Response to Reply #18

22. Yes, plus megafauna need PLENTY of habitat

Those 'practical' and 'no-nonsense' (i.e.- sourpuss) conservationist-types who get off on the raised eyebrows from their spouting these semi-heretical arguments never seem to acknowledge that:

1) The charisma of an endangered species WILL influence how much people give to save it.
2) The charismatic megafauna often require vast acreages to successfully forage and breed. Protecting these large areas helps to save dozens or hundreds of species of snails, bugs, birds, mushrooms, etc.
3) What we really need to save are whole habitats, ecosystem processes, and connected systems, but that is far too abstract for fundraising. So we play the cards we're dealt, and use the cute panda or majestic tiger as a symbol for conserving what really matters.

-app

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Sal Minella

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:44 AM
Response to Reply #4

12. Yes. Why do you ask?

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damntexdem

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:02 PM
Response to Reply #4

14. Yes, it's narrow and irrational.

Down on a "t-shirt species" that uses up too much conservation money. Where does this guy think the money comes from, with what motivation? The panda has been a useful conservation logo because it elicits love, excitement, and donations. It has been most-fortunate for the WWF that pandas are big and cute.

The only redeeming feature of the article would be were it satire, an Onion-like effort. Unfortunately, I don't think that it is.

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Gwendolyn

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Tue Sep-22-09 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #14

21. Read it again, and look around the site.

The fact that he targeted bureaucrats for annihilation in the same article should have been a clue. :)

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csziggy

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Wed Sep-23-09 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #21

25. The Register is Britain's The Onion, for those who haven't gotten it yet

First clue - their logo:

I did not look at anything but the article first linked. My brain finally kicked over when I saw this article in the sidebar:

Swedish lesbians suck sperm banks dry
Duff man juice also adding to chronic shortage

Sweden's fertility clinics are racking up a serious backlog of people waiting for artificial insemination, due in part to a "spike" in demand from lesbian couples for vital supplies of man juice.

So bad have things got that prospective customers at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg are now forced to wait 18 months for treatment.

The problem, the Göteborgs-Posten explains, is that a 2005 law change granted "female same-sex couples" the right to fertility treatment at Swedish hospitals. Previously, this privilege extended only to married women or those who were "registered heterosexual partners".

Inger Bryman, Sahlgrenska's head of gynaecology and reproductive medicine, told the paper: "We had estimated an increase of around 25 couples per year after the law change. Now there are 90 couples in line."

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/24/swedish_shortage/

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sui generis

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Tue Sep-22-09 10:48 AM
Response to Original message

5. oh gee another shock jock

guess he's getting free attention now - it's addictive.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO SAVE TERRY SCHIAVO!!!

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woodsprite

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:12 AM
Response to Original message

7. I wish I had a panda in my backyard to keep my bamboo under control. n/t

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TheMadMonk

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Tue Sep-22-09 11:28 AM
Response to Reply #7

8. It would be the wrong species of bamboo and the cute cuddly panda would starve. nt

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Retrograde

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #8

19. What an intelligent design!

here we have a carnivore that subsists almost entirely on bamboo, a plant that periodically decides all individuals flower and then die back at the same time, effectively wiping out the panda's food supply for awhile (yeah, this is a simplification, they can eat other things and different bamboo species flower at different time. But the Chinese govt. has trucked in bamboo supplies to some panda habitats during times of shortage.) This is a design that needed more time on the drawing board.

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rollingrock

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Tue Sep-22-09 12:45 PM
Response to Original message

17. You could apply the same twisted argument

Edited on Tue Sep-22-09 12:47 PM by rollingrock

to practically any species of animal you can think of, including humans.

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pansypoo53219

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Tue Sep-22-09 02:09 PM
Response to Original message

20. i agree with BBCman

pandas are lame. save the RED pandas.

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XemaSab

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Wed Sep-23-09 11:03 AM
Response to Reply #20

23. Red pandas are very cool

I have a friend involved in red panda conservation. :)

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HamdenRice

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Wed Sep-23-09 11:09 AM
Response to Original message

24. This is stupid. Pandas do more for conservation than most other species

I kind of see what he's saying from a snarky counter-intuitive perspective, but he's basically wrong on the facts.

Because pandas are cute, people donate money to save them. This has had a tremendous effect on China, which really didn't give a shit about conservation until the panda rage. Pandas became big business (actually state/collective) for Sichuan Province. In turn, Sichuan and China began thinking seriously about conservation of the natural bamboo forests and all the other species.

I had the pleasure of working on an environmental project in Sichuan and even getting a tour of the Panda conservation center. It's hokey, yes, but pandas can be said to have saved a lot of what's left of the natural environment in China -- to the extent it has been saved.

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