Ex-situ Conservation
Ex-situ Conservation – Preservation and careful management of the environment and natural resources out of the natural habitat. Ex-situ programs involve Botanic gardens, seed banks and captive breeding programs.
Pandas, in particular, take part in captive breeding programs, (mostly found in china) with over 300 found in captive breeding programs. One example of breeding programs is the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. It is a non-profit research and breeding facility for giant pandas that is located in Chengdu, China. Scientists in these programs aim to create a stable, healthy population of a species, and then gradually reintroduce the species back into their natural habitat. The animals are provided with shelter, food is shielded away from any predators. The semen (used for artificial insemination) from males can be imported from other zoos if no suitable male is available at a zoo.
Unfortunately, breeding pandas in captivity has been proven quite difficult due to multiple circumstances such their small period of fertility and the 10% mortality rate of baby panda due to their fragility.
These circumstances slow the population growth of pandas but with advancements in scientific knowledge, the future of pandas in captivity looks bright.
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