GIANT PANDAS IN CAPTIVITY : A DRAIN ON DOLLARS

[Guest guest]

Dear AAPN members,

The attached article is not

specifically Asian but it reminded me of a quote by Gerald and Lee

Durrell: " It is a matter of shame for the zoo industry that Giant

Pandas are still traded like piebald prostitutes. " Chinese diplomacy

is at its best when it comes to Giant Pandas, whether it be gifting

them to Nixon or to Taiwan. Many people might be surprised to know

that in the 1940s a Giant Panda destined for London Zoo(I forget its

name(was it Chia Chia?) but the account is in Desmond and Ramona

Morris's book 'THE GIANT PANDA') was taken by boat on the Ganges in

Bengal after its arrival in India from China and then flown to

Britain. That animal is possibly the only Giant Panda that has ever

been in India. Mrs Lee Durrell, I must admit, has always been very

supportive of of animal welfare efforts and her stance on the Giant

Panda trade is commendable for a zoo person. George Schaller has also

questioned Giant Panda captivity.

Best wishes and kind regards,

 

Sincerely yours,

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/national/12panda.html?hp & ex=1139806800 & en=c70c\

bf8529c3f3fd & ei=5094 & partner=homepage

Eats Shoots, Leaves and Much of Zoos' Budgets

By BRENDA GOODMAN

Published: February 12, 2006

ATLANTA, Feb. 11 — Lun Lun and Yang Yang have needs. They require an

expensive all-vegetarian diet — 84 pounds a day, each. They are

attended by a four-person entourage, and both crave privacy. Would-be

divas could take notes.

 

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Steve Schaefer/Agence France-Presse

Zoo Atlanta signed a 10-year lease for Yang Yang, left, and Lun Lun.

 

PANDA CAMS

Zoo Atlanta

National Zoo, Washington D.C.

San Diego Zoo

Memphis Zoo

 

Enlarge This Image

 

Jessica McGowan for The New York Times

Yang Yang, on display at the Atlanta zoo, has his bamboo brought in

from backyards around the state.

But the real sticker shock comes from the annual fees that Zoo Atlanta

must pay the Chinese government, $2 million a year, essentially to

rent a pair of giant pandas. Giant pandas are also on loan to zoos in

Washington, San Diego and Memphis.

 

The financial headache caused by the costly loan obligations to China

has driven Dennis W. Kelly, chief executive of Zoo Atlanta, to join

with the directors of the three other zoos to negotiate some budgetary

breathing room. If no agreement with China can be made, Mr. Kelly

said, the zoos may have to return their star attractions.

 

" If we can't renegotiate, they absolutely will go back, " Mr. Kelly

said. " Unless there are significant renegotiations, you'll see far

fewer pandas in the United States at the end of this current

agreement. "

 

The San Diego Zoo's contract with China is the first to expire, in

2008. The last contract, at the Memphis Zoo, ends in 2013.

 

Mr. Kelly says Lun Lun and Yang Yang, Zoo Atlanta's giant pandas, are

draining the zoo's coffers far faster than they can be replenished —

even though visitors flock to see them. And when people cannot make it

through the gates, self-described pandaholics blog with doe-eyed ardor

about the bears or stay glued to the zoos' panda Web cams.

 

Giant pandas are indisputably popular. Two months ago, the public

snapped up 13,000 tickets to see Tai Shan, born at the National Zoo in

Washington last July, in just two hours. Later that day the free

tickets were being traded on eBay for as much as $200 each.

 

" People will get up in the middle of the night to see the pandas, "

said Don Lindburg, head of the office of giant pandas at the San Diego

Zoo. " I don't think there is a comparable animal. There isn't the

enormity of response that you find with pandas. "

 

But after the first year, crowds dwindle, while the expenses remain

high. In fact, a panda's upkeep costs five times more than that of the

next most expensive animal, an elephant.

 

A curator, three full-time keepers and one backup keeper care for Lun

Lun and Yang Yang at Zoo Atlanta. A crew of six travels around Georgia

six days a week, harvesting bamboo from 400 volunteers who grow it in

their backyards. (Zoo Atlanta tried growing its own on a farm, as the

Memphis Zoo does, but Lun Lun and Yang Yang turned up their noses.)

 

" It's crazy, " Mr. Kelly said. " These bears, year-round, are some of

the most pampered animals on the planet. We measure everything that

goes in. We measure everything that goes out. "

 

Then there are the contracts, most lasting 10 years. Because China

retains ownership of the pandas, zoos lease each pair for $1 million a

year. If cubs are born, the annual fee increases by an average of

$600,000. In addition, each zoo has agreed to pay another million or

so each year to finance research and conservation projects in the

United States and in China. Taken together, Mr. Kelly says, the

contracts are worth more than $80 million to the Chinese government.

 

Mr. Kelly said he hoped China would consider the request to reduce the

fees because most other countries pay far less for their pandas.

Australia and Thailand, he said, pay about $300,000 each year for

theirs. So far, China seems amenable to considering it, he said.

Chinese officials did not respond to requests for comment.

 

" There's a perception in China that U.S. zoos are very rich because

when they come over, the zoos are beautiful, " said Chuck Brady, the

chief executive of the Memphis Zoo.

 

Zoos say they can break even on pandas, but only for the first few years.

 

" Year three is your break-even year, " Mr. Brady said. The Memphis Zoo

expects to lose about $300,000 per year on the pandas it leased in

2003. " After that, attendance drops off, and you start losing vast

amounts of money. There is a resurgence in attendance when babies are

born. "

 

Because they have had cubs born, the San Diego Zoo and the National

Zoo have fared better financially than Zoo Atlanta and the Memphis

Zoo, which still have not had luck with their breeding programs.

 

" The general feeling on the American side is that when the initial

negotiations were done 10 years ago, we had very little information on

the impact of pandas on zoos, " Mr. Brady said. " Now we're stuck with

this template. "

 

Apart from foot traffic, pandas also inspire valuable, enthusiastic

corporate sponsorships. FedEx, for example, flew Ya Ya and Le Le, the

pandas at the Memphis Zoo, to the United States from China in a

decorated " Panda Express " plane. The public was able to track the

flight on a designated FedEx Web site.

 

Fujifilm, Home Depot, UPS and others have donated millions to be

sponsors of panda exhibits at zoos, hoping to solidify business

relationships with China, which regards the animal as a national

symbol.

 

Mr. Kelly said he expected the negotiations to progress slowly.

 

" They are listening. They are open. They have not responded to

anything other than to say that the items that we put on the table are

open to discussion, " Mr. Kelly said. " They have indicated they think

the zoos need to honor their current agreements before we make

changes. "

 

In the zoos' favor is that the lease program has generated important

reproductive successes for a species that is critically endangered,

said David L. Towne, director of the Giant Panda Conservation

Foundation. Only 1,500 giant pandas are believed to be left in the

wild.

 

For now, though, zoos with pandas do not inspire the envy they once

did. " It was like having a World Series winner in your town, " said Mr.

Towne, who lives in Seattle. But now, he said, based purely on

economics, " I've told my mayor and everyone else that the last thing

we want is pandas. "