Monday, October 15, 2012

Panda porn and more

From Time Magazine's Top Ten Evil animals. #8: Pandas:
What most people don't realize is that pandas have us duped. They are the one species in the animal kingdom that seems to live outside the realm of Darwinian science. Most creatures in the universe follow German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's axiom: a creature "will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant ... because it is living and because life simply is will to power." Pandas didn't seem to get the memo. They have no will to live or reproduce. To this day, scientists have to perform grotesque procedures to keep the panda population from collapsing into oblivion. Forget about the fact that pandas are mean-spirited, mate-abusing, progeny-mauling, deviant monsters. Forget about the fact that these hoodlum bears have conned humanity with their supposed cuteness. The most evil thing about pandas? The cunning with which they expose the stupidity of humans.

Pandas do seem rather inept at reproducing. Among the problems:
Female pandas are only on heat for 72 hours a year, and can only actually become pregnant during a 12 to 24 hour window during this time.
and
Male pandas have proportionately short penises meaning pairs must adopt a very exact position in order to mate.
During their observations, researchers found that pandas demonstrated poor knowledge of this position.
Researchers then employed methods ranging from sex education videos to viagra in order to stimulate natural behaviour.Most techniques failed, and many encounters between pandas turned aggressive and violent.
Quotes are from a BBC article about Giant panda breeding breakthrough in China which describes the innovative 'twin swapping' technique used at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center in China.


1 comment:

Sonya Vargas said...

Wow, I don’t think that I would go so far as to call pandas evil. And I sure don’t think that pandas are intentionally trying to go extinct. The fact that they aren’t the best at reproducing doesn’t give us the right to perform these “grotesque” procedures on them. If I were a panda, I know I wouldn’t like people performing these procedures on me. I do however think that because of creatures such as pandas that simply demand so much of our attention, we have neglected other pressing issues in conservation and restoration. I do agree that pandas (as well as many other creatures) have a right to our attention, but I feel like sometimes efforts go too far and start using pandas as a main attraction instead of just a creature among all the others that we have impacted. And about their last remark, they can’t help it that they’re so popular!