Pandas are indeed lovable and funny creatures! But most of the time, they just spend their days lazing around. As a result, some people think they are pretty useless.
In this article, I will talk about 11 common reasons why pandas are considered useless creatures of the wood.
Table of Contents
- 1. Pandas Don’t Do Anything
- 2. Waste of Funds
- 3. Pandas Do Not Have Much Importance for the Ecosystem
- 4. Pandas Are the Failure of Evolution
- 5. Breeding Pandas is Hard
- 6. Pandas are Bad at Parenting
- 7. Pandas Cannot Take Care of Themselves
- 8. Pandas are Dumb
- 9. Pandas Sleep A Lot
- 10. Fall Out of Trees
- 11. Lack of Interaction
- Final Thoughts
1. Pandas Don’t Do Anything
Pandas are useless because they don’t do anything. Yes, throughout their days they just eat a bunch of bamboo and then sleep.
The moment they wake up, they again start eating and then fall asleep.
When they are not sleeping or eating, they just lie on their back and do nothing.
In fact, pandas are so lazy that they don’t even want to walk, they roll. They also find it tiring to mate.
You will see videos of pandas in the zoo lying in the same spot for many hours. They do not even have the urge to move from that place.
So, basically, there is nothing much from their side to contribute. And that proves they are useless.
Since they do not do much, they also do not deserve to be spent so much money.
2. Waste of Funds
Giant pandas have won the jackpot of being preserved which needs lots of funding. But there is nothing special about them to spend so much money on.
Only 80 of the over 20,000 species of animals that are in danger of extinction receive conservation funding. But, 61% of conservation campaigns raise funding only for these so-called celebrity species.
According to a conservationist, Chris Packham, “pandas are a waste of money.”
3. Pandas Do Not Have Much Importance for the Ecosystem
Pandas don’t have much importance to the ecosystem. So, the extinction of the giant panda will not have a significant effect.
Other species like bees are responsible for the pollination of over 250,000 different plant species. But their species is endangered as well and they are not so privileged.
Tiger sharks are at risk of extinction as well. These top-level predators play a key role in maintaining populations of different species.
Giant pandas only help in spreading seeds. They do not have any other contribution or importance to the ecosystem.
So, focusing on the preservation of a single species means neglecting the other endangered species. Whole ecosystems are in danger of collapsing if we continue to prioritize only pandas.
Furthermore, they are not only useless for our ecosystem but also unsuccessful creatures of evolution.
4. Pandas Are the Failure of Evolution
Pandas are the failure of the evolution process.
The ancestors of pandas used to be carnivores. They were hunters by nature. But they gradually lost their umami taste receptors and turned to bamboo. They entirely shifted to bamboo instead of meat.
They have lost that taste receptor but still, have the digestion system of carnivores. But their diet consists entirely of bamboo.
Therefore, they are majorly lacking in the amount of protein and lipids. They are also not getting different nutrients that would be provided by meat.
And this leads to their lack of energy. That is why they can’t do anything other than stuffing their stomachs with bamboo.
So, basically, they evolved to become lazy and do nothing much.
5. Breeding Pandas is Hard
It is extremely challenging for giant pandas to successfully mate. It’s because of their laziness and lack of activity.
They are so naive that many of them do not know how to engage in sexual activity.
Moreover, reproduction is far more difficult for pandas who are kept in captivity. Pandas that are born and raised in captivity do not even know about reproduction.
For example:
it took the couple Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, ten years to produce babies. Those long ten years of trial and error then lead to successfully mating for the first time. They were the first pair of giant pandas to be housed in the National Zoo.
They spent 20 years together at the National Zoo. During these years they were able to produce only five panda offspring.
Furthermore, each spring female pandas experience estrous for only 24 to 72 hours. This season is so short that most of the pandas do not even realize it.
It is only possible for male pandas to have sexual encounters within this short time. However, male pandas have their own reproductive cycle. And in the summer season, they have no interest in having sexual relations.
This shows the amount of attention and time they are given for all these. This does not make them very much useful.
Furthermore, they are not just bad at mating but also at parenting.
6. Pandas are Bad at Parenting
Pandas are very bad at handling their babies after giving birth to them.
When a panda gives birth for the first time, it does not recognize its newborn babies.
50% of the time, a panda will have twins. But if they give birth to more than one, they will reject any one of them.
The reason for this is that they do not have enough milk or energy to care for more than one baby.
At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, when a panda mother gives birth to twins, the staff does a trick.
Keepers take one of the newborn cubs away shortly after delivery. That leads the mother to believe that she only has one baby to care for.
The identical twins are then switched up ten times per day. This is to keep up the appearance of a single baby panda.
It shows that they are so useless that they can not even take care of their own babies.
However, it does not stop there, they also don’t know how to survive on their own.
7. Pandas Cannot Take Care of Themselves
Pandas are so helpless and useless that they cannot even take care of themselves. They cannot survive without external care.
If you see the videos of the preservation centers, you will see they are constantly attended to by caretakers.
The caretakers feed them, give them baths, entertain them, and whatnot.
So, this proves that they are useless enough not to survive on their own.
8. Pandas are Dumb
Pandas are not only lazy but also dumb which leads to their being useless.
The giant panda is one of the species on this planet that has the least amount of intelligence.
Moreover, the species does not have the ability to successfully reproduce. They sometimes do not even know the process of mating.
Furthermore, pandas do dumb. They do not realize how big they are. Sometimes they do things like hiding behind a tree or bush, not realizing their body size.
They are not only dumb but also lazy like a sloth.
9. Pandas Sleep A Lot
Giant pandas sleep during the day as well as the night. Throughout the time they just snooze.
After every three to four hours of eating, the giant pandas would sleep for two to three hours.
Because of their condition, they don’t care whether it’s day or night. Whenever they feel like sleeping, they sleep.
This habit of sleeping every now and then does not make an animal much useful.
Furthermore, when they are bored sleeping on the ground, they climb trees and sleep on the branches.
10. Fall Out of Trees
Pandas like to climb trees. In fact, they are very skillful climbers.
Every now and then they climb on a tree and laze out on the branches. But sometimes they fall asleep and fall out of the tree.
Giant pandas also do not have any idea of their weight. They often climb on branches that are not strong enough to hold their weight and they fall down.
This activity is a daily routine of the pandas. This shows how useless they are and that they do not even bother to fall from trees.
11. Lack of Interaction
Giant pandas are known to be loners and peaceful animals. That is why they do not interact with other species and also not much with themselves.
The only time it communicates with members of its own species is during the mating season.
Moreover, pandas do not have relationships with one another that are long-lasting.
Their diet does not give much energy. That is why alone and on shallow slopes.
So, a species that does not even interact with its own kind, how can it be useful?
Final Thoughts
Giant pandas are extremely cute and adorable. However, some people just simply call them useless because of their behavior.
Despite that, I still love them no matter what! In addition, they are still part of the environment. All animals deserve to be loved and taken care of.
Well, unlike the common belief, pandas can be useful too. Click here to know how!
