Hot Animals around the World: The Panda

Some countries have adopted an animal as a kind of national mascot. The bald eagle is often thought of as representing the United States, for example. New Zealanders proudly display their kiwi, a native flightless bird. Australians cannot seem to make up their minds whether the koala or the kangaroo should represent them. China also has two animals which often stand out in everyone's mind: the dragon and the giant panda. As the dragon is a mythological animal, that leaves the giant panda as the only real animal representative of China.
　　Although dragons have been associated with China for thousands of years, the panda's inclusion into the Chinese psyche is far more recent. The giant panda was not even discovered until 1869; it was already a rare animal at that time, living in the high bamboo forests of Sichuan province and neighboring parts of Tibet. Its more plentiful cousin, the lesser panda, is also referred to as the cat bear or bear cat; however, zoologically speaking, it is neither. The lesser panda is a member of the raccoon family, whereas the giant panda's classification is still a dilemma: some authorities consider it a member of the bear family while others maintain that it belongs to the raccoon family, too.
　　The giant panda is well named. Reaching a length of 1.5 meters and 160 kilograms, this gentle omnivore is among the largest land animals of China. Subsisting on a diet of bamboo and other plants, and even small animals, it can consume as much as 30 kilograms of food a day. Now that's a giant appetite! Its distinctive markings--broad, white bands of fur alternating with black, and small black circles around the eyes--have endeared the giant panda to animal lovers everywhere.
　　People may want to hug this huge "teddy bear," but giant pandas prefer to live a solitary life. This may account for their scarcity; these pandas are on all official lists of endangered animals. Estimates of the wild panda population are difficult due to the rugged terrain they live in, but most experts agree that fewer than 1000 remain free. As they give birth to only one or two cubs when mating is successful, the giant panda's survival in the wild is anything but a foregone conclusion. The Chinese government has set aside 11 nature preserves where pandas are known to exist, hoping to protect them from the rapid encroachment of man. Though poaching is still a problem, strict laws have reduced this senseless carnage.
　　Pandas in captivity number less than 100, the largest share, of course, in China. Those in Western zoos are treated as royalty and are the object of intense scientific interest and care. Recently, veterinarians have given male giant pandas Viagra, hoping to increase the animals' reproductive efficiency. Results are thus far inconclusive. Though births have been reported, they are few and far between. It seems the panda's chance of survival is razor-thin.
　　Its extinction would be a sad day for all of mankind. These playful and gentle creatures never fail to amuse adults and children alike lucky enough to observe them in zoos. Every plant and animal that leaves the world due to human intervention and encroachment of habitat diminishes the world we live in. The richness of the Earth's original biodiversity is being attacked. Will future generations of humanity be left with only a few species of food plants, and zoos exhibiting cockroaches and rats?
　　Hopefully, men will learn the excesses of their ways and strive to protect the remaining natural habitats as an investment not only in the flora and fauna remaining but in the quality of life, present and future, of all those on this planet. "Extinction is forever" and "There is only one world" need no longer be heard one becomes conscious of preserving the beauty of the natural world around us.

　　若干国家已选择某动物作为国家的吉祥物。例如，美国就选择秃鹰作为它的象征。新西兰人则骄傲地展示他们的几维，一种不会飞的鸟。澳洲人似乎无法决定应该选择无尾熊或袋鼠来代表他们的国家。中国也有两种大家都知道的动物——龙和大熊猫。由于龙是神话里的动物，因此大熊猫就成了真正代表中国的动物了。
　　虽然龙和中国的渊源已有数千年之久，大熊猫融入中国人的心灵却是近几年的事。大熊猫直到1869年才被发现，在当时，它已是生活在四川省高山林区和邻近西藏地区的稀有动物。比它数量多的表亲体型较小的小熊猫，有人称之为猫熊或熊猫；但是，就动物学的观点来说，它既不属于熊科动物也不属于猫科动物。事实上，小猫熊是浣熊科的一种，而大熊猫的归属至今则仍无定论：有些专家认为它应属熊科，有些则认为它亦应属浣熊科。
　　大熊猫的命名蛮贴切的。大熊猫个性温顺，属杂食性动物，身长1.5米，体重达160公斤，是中国最大的陆地动物之一。它以竹子和其它植物及小动物为食，一天可摄取多达30公斤的食物。真是好大的胃口啊！它全身黑白色相间的宽条纹以及小小的黑眼圈，是它最明显的标识，也因而受到各地动物爱好者的喜爱。
　　大家都想抱抱这只庞大的“泰迪熊”。但大熊猫性喜独居。这可能是它们数量稀少的原因；熊猫已被列入濒危动物的所有官方保护名单之中。野放熊猫数量很难估计，因为它们都住在崎岖不平的地区。但专家大多认为野生熊猫的总数不到1000只。熊猫若成功受孕，每胎也只能产下1～2只小宝宝，因此，大熊猫野放的存活率根本无法遽下结论。中国政府已经设立了11处已知有熊猫出没的自然保护区，希望能保护熊猫免于人类快速的侵害。虽然偷猎仍是个问题，但严格的法律已使滥杀减少。
　　动物园饲养的熊猫数量目前不到100只，其中大多数当然是在中国。西方国家动物园内饲养的熊猫被视作皇族看待，也引起科学界强烈的兴趣及关爱。近来，有兽医给雄性熊猫服用药物，希望增加它们的繁殖力。截至目前为止，尚未有具体结果。虽然已有小熊猫诞生，但数量少之又少。熊猫的生存机会似乎很渺茫。
　　熊猫如果灭绝将是全人类的悲哀。这些活泼、温和的动物总是逗得有幸在动物园内观赏到它们的大人及小孩开心。任何一种植物或动物如果因为人类对它们栖息空间的侵犯和介入而使它们从地球上消失的话，也将会使得人类生活的空间变得越来越小。地球丰富原生物的多样化正受到破坏。将来人类留给未来子孙的东西是否只剩下几种食用植物和只有展示蟑螂及老鼠的动物园呢？
　　但愿吾人能从我们放肆的行为中记取教训，努力维护现存的自然栖息环境，不仅为现有的动植物设想，也为地球上我们这一代及后代子孙的生活质量设想。如果人人都能了解保护我们外围自然生态美的重要性，就不必再听到“物种一旦灭绝便永远灭绝了。”及“我们只有一个地球。”这样的警语了。