Called by various nicknames such as ‘Yongin Poo’, ‘Poo Princess’, and ‘Putuntun’, Fu Bao is a giant panda. After China joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) in 1981, commercial trade with giant pandas became impossible. This is why Fu Bao has no choice but to return to China.
On the 24th, Jeong Dong-hee, director of Everland Zoo, said, “The panda-related agreement with China stipulates that the time of return is ‘before the age of 4’. I didn’t get it,” he said. Fu Bao was born on July 20, 2020 at Everland Panda World.
The objects that Everland Zoo consults on the return of Fubao are the ‘China Wildlife Conservation Association’, which is in charge of wildlife management and policies in China, and the ‘China Giant Panda Conservation Research Center’, Everland’s panda research partner.
There are only 2,400 giant pandas left worldwide.
According to the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) and Everland on the 27th, it is estimated that there are about 1,800 wild giant pandas left.
There are about 600 pandas living in the zoo. Giant pandas are exhibited in 21 countries including Korea, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States. can see.
In the past, wild giant pandas were distributed in the Yangtze and Huanghe basins of China, northern Vietnam, and northern Myanmar, but now live only in China’s Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Among them, the giant panda sanctuary in Sichuan Province, designated as a World Natural Heritage in 2006, is the largest habitat.
The biggest enemy that drove pandas to the brink of extinction is humans. Humans destroyed the habitat of pandas by building roads and building dams, and thick bamboo forests turned into rice fields.
Climate change has also affected pandas. Bamboo, the panda’s staple food, blooms once every 15 to 120 years depending on the species, so it does not adapt quickly to the changed environment. In fact, in areas such as Qinling and Daxiangling, the bamboo forest area is decreasing and species diversity is decreasing. Bamboo that pandas eat is only 25 species out of a total of 1,250 species, so it is significantly affected by the decline in species diversity.
Earthquakes that frequently occur in Sichuan are also a problem. According to the American Ecological Society, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan Province in May 2008 affected 23% of panda habitats and 60% of wild giant pandas.
China joined CITES in 1981 … no commercial transactions
China’s “panda diplomacy” began in 1941 when먹튀검증 Kuomintang President Chiang Kai-shek donated it as a token of gratitude to the United States for supporting China. Later, when US President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972 during the Cold War, a pair of pandas were handed over to the US, and panda diplomacy began in earnest.
When China joined CITES in 1981 , it changed its policy to lease giant pandas instead of gifting them.
Giant pandas are listed on CITES Annex I. CITES divides internationally endangered animals and plants into Annexes I, II, and III according to their protection needs. Species listed in Annex I cannot, in principle, be commercially traded. Only transactions for academic research are permitted as an exception.
It is known that a panda protection fund of 1 million dollars (approximately 1.33 billion won) is donated for each pair of giant pandas, which is used for the protection and research of giant pandas.
If the giant panda you are renting dies, you must compensate. Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand had to pay 15 million baht (about 570 million won) to China in compensation for the death of the giant panda ‘Lin Hui’ in May this year.
Even when a baby giant panda is born, they pay at least 200,000 dollars (about 270 million won) to China. Baby giant pandas must go to China before they reach the age of 4, as they are sexually mature and capable of breeding between the ages of 4 and 8.
China, which has the ownership of all pandas existing on the planet, has enacted the ‘Panda Protection Law’ for the management and survival of pandas, and strictly controls their export.
Meanwhile, in March 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a female Ai Bao and a male Le Bao to Korea as a symbol of promoting friendship between Korea and China. The panda born among them is Fubao.