Zoos are important players in panda conservation.
- Breeding Programs
While not as big as the breeding programs in breeding centres, zoos still have breeding programs, which increase research into panda reproduction and boost population numbers. This would help in the conservation of pandas as a species.
- Education
While it is possible to learn about panda conservation efforts online, it is much more effective when learning in context to a real life panda, which grants it immediacy. Zoos are thus important gateways for panda education, where people will gain information about panda and the threats they face.
- Exposure
However, the most important role of the zoo is to expose people to pandas. This encourages panda conservation as people will feel more connected to something they see rather than an abstract picture in a book.
Pandas are practically impossible to see outside of a zoo. Hence, it is likely that the only chance most people have to see a panda will be in a zoo. Since pandas are still vulnerable and at threat, if zoos do not have pandas that the general public can meet, it is possible that many would not be able to see pandas before they go extinct ( which hopefully will not happen at all).
Zoos are places of inspiration, in that seeing the pandas at the zoos will likely inspire children to become the next generation of panda conservationists and researchers. Without this exposure, there would still be conservationists and researchers but numbers would be lower and they may not be as passionate.
