Tony D. Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Pandas could be extinct in 2-3 generations: report Buzz up!25 votes Send Email IM .Share Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print .. AFP/File – A panda cub is seen playing at the Giant Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu. There are about 1,590 pandas … . Play Video Video:Panda birth captured on video Reuters . Play Video Video:The San Diego Zoo's Baby Pandas Over The Years News 8 San Diego .Mon Aug 17, 1:09 am ETBEIJING (AFP) – China's giant panda could be extinct in just two to three generations as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life, state media said on Monday, citing an expert at conservation group WWF.The problem is that the pandas' habitat is being split up into ever smaller patches, preventing the animals from roaming freely for mating partners and in turn endangering their gene pool, the Global Times reported."If the panda cannot mate with those from other habitats, it may face extinction within two to three generations," said Fan Zhiyong, Beijing-based species programme director for WWF. "We have to act now."The risk of inbreeding is increasing, threatening to reduce the panda's resistance to diseases and lowering its ability to reproduce, the paper said.Fan said that highways pose major restrictions on the panda's free movement."We may have to give up building some infrastructure," Fan said. "I don't know the solution to this problem."There are about 1,590 pandas living in the wild around China, mostly in southwestern Sichuan, northern Shaanxi and northwestern Gansu provinces. A total of 180 have been bred in captivity, according to earlier reports.In addition to environmental constraints, the animals' notoriously low libidos have frustrated efforts to boost their numbers.Breeders have resorted to tactics such as showing them "panda porn" videos of other pandas mating, and putting males through "sexercises" aimed at training up their pelvic and leg muscles for the rigours of copulation.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COOPER&BURNETT Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 If PANDINA reads this thread, she's going to go postal. She's not going to like this at all. She adores pandas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted August 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 That's why I felt she should be informed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators timm525 Posted August 18, 2009 Administrators Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 That would suck. I think they should be protected if they aren't already. We have had way too many animal species go extinct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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