Let pandas die out, says British naturalist

[abc]

Let pandas die out, says British naturalist


September 22, 2009

Conservationists should �pull the plug� on giant pandas and let them
die out, according to BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham.

Conservationists should �pull the plug� on giant pandas and let them
die out, according to BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham.
Photograph by: File, Reuters

LONDON - Conservationists should �pull the plug� on giant pandas and
let them die out, according to BBC presenter and naturalist Chris
Packham.

�Here�s a species that, of its own accord, has gone down an
evolutionary cul-de-sac,� Packham told Radio Times magazine.

The 48-year-old believes that money spent on conserving the panda would
be better invested in other animals as the species is not strong enough
to survive alone.

�It�s not a strong species. Unfortunately it�s big and cute and it�s a
symbol of the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) � and we pour millions of
pounds into panda conservation.�

�I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go, with a degree of
dignity ...�

Giant pandas are confined to forest areas high in the mountains of
southwestern China and have to consume large quantities of bamboo to
survive.

They number around 1,600 according to the WWF (www.wwf.org.uk), and are
threatened by agriculture, logging and China�s increasing human
population.

But Packham�s views are not widely shared.

�It is a daft thing for Chris to say, and an irresponsible one,� Dr
Mark Wright, a conservation science advisor for WWF, was reported as
saying by British media.

�Pandas have adapted to where they live. They live in the mountains
where there is plenty of the bamboo they want to eat.

�It�s like saying the blue whale is in an evolutional cul-de-sac
because it lives in the ocean,� Wright added.

Packham, who is president of Britain�s Bat Conservation Trust and vice
-president of the Wildlife Trusts, also saw a grim outlook for
endangered tigers.

�I don�t think tigers are going to last another 15 years,� he said.
�How can you conserve an animal that is worth more dead than alive? You
can�t.�