The Real Value of a Giant Panda

Ava Carson
2 min readJan 6, 2021
giant panda in captivity

Not for sale! Yes, giant pandas are not for sale. All giant pandas in the world, inside or outside China, are the property of the Republic of China. Giant pandas are endemic to China, which means they only naturally in China.

Furthermore, the World Wildlife Funds (WWF) has designed its logo after the image of a giant panda. For many years, giant pandas have been the symbol of wildlife conservation. This organization does its best to preserve the existing creatures in the world like giant pandas. They collect voluntary contributions or donations from the people who care about the welfare of the endangered creatures.

China considers the giant pandas as its national treasure. With all the things mentioned, we can conclude why the Giant Pandas are not for sale. But that is not the end of the story. Giant pandas can be rented or adopted. Read this article to know more about it.

Cost of Renting Giant Pandas

Renting a giant panda costs $1,000,000 a year. Usually, zoos around the world rent pandas in pairs, which means the zoo management spends $2,000,000 on the rental fee. However, this fee does not cover the annual food of the pandas.

A giant panda can consume $500,000 worth of bamboo per year. So if it’s a pair, the zoo management will spend another million to feed the pandas in a year. You may think that’s crazy, but that’s the truth.

Symbolic Adoption

If you can’t afford to rent giant pandas. You can adopt them. How is that possible?

There are organizations like World Wildlife Funds and Pandas International, which offer token adoption. This means that giant pandas have to stay in China under the care of professional and volunteer panda conservationists.

You are more likely doing a donation drive. However, you are entitled as the adopter of the giant panda you choose. There are also corresponding items in the adoption that you will apply for. These are kind of like your incentives to do the giant pandas and other animals a favor.

Conclusion:

You have learned that you cannot buy a giant panda. But some institutions like zoos or animal centers can rent them. Also, you learned that you can symbolically adopt a panda.

Giant pandas do not only have a beautiful appearance. They also have an important part in the conservation of wildlife. That makes them even more adorable, don’t you think?

This article is brought to you by BestofPanda. What can you say about it? Share this with your friend and do not forget to write down your thoughts in the comment section below.

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