Click here to see the related story, "Could Pandas Be an Evolutionary Mistake—or Proof of an Intelligent Designer?"
For decades, the panda has been an icon of the conservation movement, along with other majestic animals like the Siberian tiger, the mountain gorilla, the blue whale, and, most recently, the polar bear. These conservation superstars have a few things in common: They're big, they're mammals, and they're pretty—earning them the label "charismatic megafauna."But they're obviously not the only animals in danger of extinction.
About 22 percent of all mammals are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but the percentage is significantly higher for creepy, crawly, backbone-less invertebrates, which enrich the soil, filter water, recycle nutrients, pollinate plants, decompose animal carcasses and waste products, play a vital role in the food chain, and inspire biomimetic creations.
What are pandas good for? Why are invertebrates (a group that includes the three most endangered groups of animals in the United States) seemingly absent from conservation planning strategies, while the panda receives a great proportion of our efforts and our concern, not to mention tens of millions of dollars for captive breeding programs?
The panda has been called "possibly one of the grossest wastes of conservation money in the last half century" by conservationist Chris Packham, president of Britain's Bat Conservation Trust. In fact, he insists that he "would eat the last panda" if the resources devoted to them could be transferred to "more sensible things."
Save the Charismatic Megafauna!
At first glance, it may seem that the conservationists have let emotion win out over reason, ignoring the suffering of the masses (and the vitality of the earth) to save the cuddliest animals. But a closer look reveals a different picture: The charismatic megafauna may get all the glory, but they also bring in the bucks.
The conservation movement has been exploiting the panda's earning power since the World Wildlife Fund—the most widely supported conservation organization in the world—made it their symbol in 1961. "Kids love them, parents love them, the Chinese government loves them, and yes, conservationists love them," says Matt Durnin of The Nature Conservancy in China. “From a marketing perspective, they’re a no-brainer." The panda's ability to resonate so widely has earned it the role of "flagship species" for its natural habitat, the fertile Yangtze River Basin. Flagship species act as representatives of a defined environmental cause; they are selected for their ability to raise awareness and, more practically, money.The idea is that support for the flagship species will also benefit the many other species that share the flagship animal’s habitat but lack that sympathy-inspiring je ne sais quoi.