Pandas Are Less Over

“THE GIANT PANDA IS NOW VULNERABLE WE CAN’T PICK ON PANDAS ANYMORE”

— franzanth

2008 IUCN assessment (”Endangered”)* 

• estimated the population at 1000-2000 individuals, definitely <2500

• protected habitat minimal, extremely fragmented populations

• <250 mature adults in each isolated population

• “Until recently there has been a general population decline, although there is hope that this has been reversed by general habitat improvements — nevertheless, this remains an uncertainty.”

2016 IUCN assessment (”Vulnerable”)

• estimated total population at 2060 individuals, ~1040 mature adults

• protected habitat much larger, populations less fragmented, but still several large, distinct, disconnected areas

• <1000 mature adults in each isolated population (now that many of the 2008 subpopulations have merged)

• “it is widely believed that the population has stabilized and has begun to increase in many parts of the range”

• “Although the population is currently increasing, climate change is predicted to eliminate >35% of the Panda’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, and thus the Panda population is projected to decline”

• “The Giant Panda will remain a conservation-dependent species for the foreseeable future.”

Summary: I’ll give up my panda-conservation-hate when you pry it from my COLD, DEAD HANDS.

Real talk: as I see it, this assessment will either a) result in a “WE DID IT, WE’RE DONE HERE” mentality that will ultimately lead to their extinction, or b) change nothing, and pandas will continue to be the face of a conservation standard that absorbs ludicrous amounts of money for painfully incremental progress like some kind of demonic portal to the charismatic megafaunal void realm

*2008 IUCN assessment can be downloaded from the 2016 assessment page

Panama Ruined Everything

“So, what do you think about the great american interchange”

— @rosemary-lalonde

As a giant fan of birds (as well as a fan of giant birds) I, for one, am personally offended by the Great American Interchange and would like to know who is claiming responsibility for Panama as I have a strongly-worded letter coming right for them

Photo from Richard Cowen

For those of you unaware of this absolute travesty, the Great American Interchange occurred ~2.5MYA when a land bridge (aka Central America) formed between North and South America, allowing a transfer of species between the two. For a brief period, everything was beautiful and both continents were overrun with phorusrhacids, the feathery incarnation of all of my hopes and dreams.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

But then, like the jerks we are, mammals had to go and ruin everything by out-competing and eating all the giant flightless birds. Now all we’re left with are dogs and bears and a few weird marsupials and only two species of seriemas. U N B E L I E V A B L E

Photo from Project Noah