Baby panda dies in Japanese zoo

Following the sad news of the death of a newborn panda in a Japanese zoo, the Born Free Foundation has written today urging decision-makers to consider the global picture instead of continuing to support Edinburgh Zoo’s misguided plan to import pandas from China.

Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation, said today: “When will we stop making excuses for zoos? Education, conservation, research are all high-brow justifications for the inexcusable. And the case of Edinburgh’s plans to bring in giant pandas makes the case. The chances of successful breeding are tiny. The educational value is, at best, superficial. And the research seems to me more about keeping these creatures locked up for life than genuinely contributing to improving their survival chances in the wild.”

In Europe, giant pandas have been a novelty feature of zoos in England, Germany, Austria and Spain, yet it is believed that there have only ever been two successful births of pandas in Europe, and only one of these has involved natural conception. Between 1982 and 2007, despite the presence of pandas in zoos, no cubs were born in Europe. It has long been acknowledged that panda reproduction in captivity is extremely problematic, and many zoos have resorted to techniques such as artificial insemination in their efforts to produce cubs.

In the majority of cases in Western zoos, captive-bred panda cubs do not survive. In addition, giant pandas can suffer from behavioural problems in captivity, including repetitive “pacing, pirouetting, head-tossing, self-biting, somersaulting, masturbating, swaying, tongue-flicking, sitting up, paw-sucking, cage-climbing, and regurgitating” (Swaisgood RR et al. (2003). Zoo Biology 22: 347-354).

In March 2007, at the height of the hysteria surrounding the polar bear cub Knut at Berlin Zoo, disturbance from the increased number of zoo visitors was blamed as the stress-related cause of death of female panda Yan Yan. Berlin Zoo currently houses a solitary male panda, Bao Bao.

Laura Zimprich from the German animal protection organisation Animal Public E.V. said: “I have known the panda Bao Bao (who is nearly my age) since I was a little child. Since that time, I have experienced so many things in my life and yet Boa Boa is still in the same place, still staring at the same walls. Berlin Zoo has kept giant pandas for 28 years – in that time, there have been no successful births, but two giant pandas died. There has been no benefit for the pandas in the wild. I believe that the keeping of giant pandas in Western zoos does not help to save the pandas. It only brings money for the zoos.”

For more information, log on to Bornfree.org.uk.