New Baby Panda On the Way?
By Brandon Chimps
March 12th 2020
We see that animals all over the world are trying to hook up, but why, are they truly trying to help the planet or are we devolving into heathens?
At Ocean Park in Hong Kong, giant pandas Ying Ying and Le Le finally mated successfully for the first time. Though for some creatures this comes quite easily, if I say so myself, it is much harder for giant pandas. The reason that these pandas were able to get some time alone is mainly that there are not as many people watching them. These pandas finally had some peace and quiet! How do humans expect us to mate when they're watching? We're not savages.
Though Ying Ying and Le Le did mate, and we hope to see a new baby storming the headlines, it may be a while since it's hard for giant pandas to conceive. Baby giant pandas are also so small that we would not know Ying Ying is pregnant at all until a week or two before her due date. Though we do not have a direct quote from Ying Ying we assume she is in utter dismay right now.
Ying Ying is facing the struggle that animals who are in captivity face. She has an ultimatum: she can either never have a child or have a child and risk the chance of it getting taken away from her by a zookeeper. Imagen birthing your little cub, larva, or egg was taken away from you. She knows that the keepers will raise her child well and that it would do great things for her species, but she may not be able to bear the separation. Bringing a young child into the world and handing it over into the care of humans is shameful. Is Ying Ying just doing it for the press?
Though Ying Ying may be doing it for the press, the baby would have a beneficial impact on the planet. The Executive Director, Zoological Operations & Conservation at Ocean Park Corporation states, “ We hope to bear wonderful pregnancy news to Hong Kongers this year and make further contributions to the conservation of this vulnerable species”. The last census taken in 2014, showed that there are just under 2,000 giant pandas in the wild, and there are only 300 in captivity. Though it’s enraging that humans think they're more capable of taking care of us than ourselves, the pandas in captivity are treated well.
This baby will be leading the way in what might be the incline of many of our endangered species. Zoos and aquariums are working all over the world to get engaged species to their natural population. This is a difficult task because many of the species have become endangered due to human destruction. Unless they are able to get their act together in the following years there is never going to be a chance for us.
All we can do is hope that COVID has shown the world that we need attention, and if they would just step to the side we can raise up and pull through these life-threatening times.
