Singapore Welcomes Its First Baby Panda and the Hope of a New Era for Endangered Species
The Arabian Oryx (Karim Sahib)
On Aug. 14, 2021, the first giant panda born in Singapore was welcomed by the River Safari. The gender of the infant panda is still undetermined, as is the name, but its parents are Jia Jia and Kai Kai, the country’s beloved representatives of the vulnerable species. It took seven mating seasons for Jia Jia to conceive, and it was achieved through a combination of natural mating techniques and assisted reproductive science based on advice from the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda. The baby, who weighs around 200g, is currently recovering in the maternity ward with its mother Jia Jia, but its father Kai Kai is still on display at the river safari.
This uplifting news comes shortly after giant pandas were downgraded from an “endangered” to a “vulnerable” species. In the 1980s, there were only 1114 pandas in the wild, but now there are 1864, which is an amazing achievement for a species so notoriously hard to breed. This spectacular change is thanks to years of dedicated conservation work being carried out by specialists all over the world.
It is not just giant pandas that have benefitted from conservation efforts in recent years. There are many other species that have also been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable status: the gray wolf, steller sea lion, gray whale, snow leopard, and Yellowstone grizzly bear to name just a few.
Of the species that we have already managed to save, possibly the most incredible is that of the Arabian oryx. This beautiful species was found in most of the plains and deserts of the Arabian Peninsula but were hunted to extinction because their pure white coats were in demand as trophies and gifts. The last of the species to live in the wild was probably shot by a hunter in Oman in 1972. As their numbers dwindled, conservationists, predicting the worst, took some of the oryx into captivity to breed. After the species went extinct, the breeding program continued, until there were enough of them to release back into the wild. Since then, they have been doing well, and are now officially vulnerable, and their population trend is stable.
The birth of Singapore’s giant panda and our progress in conservation throughout the 21st century are two very promising insights into the future protection of endangered species. However, there are still a lot of species that are in danger and since it is humans who put them at risk, it is also our responsibility to bring them back from the brink. Hopefully, our efforts can continue this positive trend, and many more species can join Jia Jia and Kai Kai’s baby in the future of our wonderful and diverse planet.
