There are many rare animals in our country. Before these animals were protected, they were all hunted by humans.

Giant pandas and snow leopards are both endangered species in my country

Their fur is stripped off and used as decorations, their meat is cooked as delicacies, and their bones are ground and used as traditional Chinese medicine. into powder, etc.

It was not until their numbers gradually dwindled that people thought of legislating for protection.

Leopard bones are expensive, which led to snow leopards being hunted for a time. The picture shows snow leopard bones

Giant pandas have also gone through such a cruel process. Do you know when giant pandas became "national treasures" "'s?" After nearly a hundred years of massacre, the giant panda was not listed as a national first-level protected wild animal in 1988, and it was not until 1992 that it officially became my country's "national treasure".

Big What did the panda go through to become a "national treasure"? Why do giant pandas attract world attention? Why can they become our country’s “national treasures”? What happened to the giant pandas after they were protected?

Next we will walk into the process of giant pandas becoming "national treasures", but this process is very bumpy and can be said to be a living history of giant panda massacres.

The giant panda is one of the most famous animals in my country

The giant panda’s arduous journey to become a “national treasure”

China is very rich in species, and some mountains The place with overlapping mountains and pleasant seasons is also a geomantic treasure place where wild animals gather.

Baoxing County in Ya'an City, Sichuan, is home to nearly a quarter of China's animal species, including of course giant pandas.

Giant pandas have always lived in a relatively hidden environment, and they rarely go out for activities. Therefore, Chinese people rarely find traces of giant pandas, and even in ancient times there were very few records of them.

Yes Scholars say that the panda was called tapir in ancient times, and some people also said that the panda was Pixiu

Giant pandas began to attract attention

It was not until the 1860s that Armand, a missionary from France, When David was serving as the fourth-generation priest of Muping Donghe Dengchigou Church, he discovered a black and white animal skin in a home.

David had never seen such a strange coat color before. After asking, he learned that the locals called this animal "white bear" or "flower bear".

David was a missionary who was very interested in novel animals. When he realized that this animal might be "a scientifically interesting species", he began to hire people to visit Baoxing County. Search and capture.

In 1869, David captured a giant panda. He was deeply attracted by the naive image of the giant panda, so he decided to take it back to France.

Giant panda specimens on display in foreign museums

Due to the long distance, the giant panda as a wild animal has not yet adapted to human feeding, and people do not know much about its living habits. So he died before arriving in France.

But David still decided to let the French take a look at this peculiar species, so he made a specimen of it and sent it to the National Museum of France for display.

This exhibition undoubtedly attracted the attention of a large number of foreigners. More and more people discovered the business opportunities and went to China to capture giant pandas.

At this time, the giant panda was also called "cat panda". It is said that it was later called "panda" because of the Chinese writing habits.

Giant Panda Specimens

The fate of giant pandas began to be reversed. A large number of Western explorers and hunters appeared in Sichuan. They set hunting snares in the mountains and forests and went around with guns. search.

A large number of giant pandas were hunted by these Westerners and made into specimens and sent to Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

But these Western countries are not satisfied because they all want to have a living giant panda.

Giant pandas kept as pets by foreigners

According to David's description, this strange species is very docile and pleasant.

So for nearly a century, giant pandas without the protection of the Chinese government have been facing being slaughtered.

These Westerners know that giant pandas are rare in number and very precious, but they never stop because of this, just to blindly satisfy their greedy desires.

Armand David started the "Panda craze" in the West

Westerners' desire for living giant pandas

In 1936, New York designer Ruth· Harkless and Chinese-American Quentin Yang captured a baby giant panda, which they named "Su Lin."

Ruth escaped the strict customs and brought Su Lin back to New York on the day before Christmas. A large number of Americans gathered at the pier to hold a welcoming ceremony for the giant panda.

Su Lin was then taken to major cities for display, and even bidding began. Finally, she was admitted to a zoo and put on display.

Since then, the doors of Chicago's Brookfield Zoo have almost been broken down, and the number of visitors arriving every day can reach 40,000.

These two pandas have become a cash cow for the zoo

The zoo will display Su Lin, businessmen will produce products with the image of giant pandas, and writers will write stories about Su Lin and Ruth, etc. etc., giant pandas are becoming more and more famous around the world.

Su Lin, who was put on display in a cage every day, died a year later, but even after she died, she was still displayed as a specimen.

After that, foreigners began to search for traces of giant pandas in China as if they were possessed. They became more and more unscrupulous.

According to statistics, by 1941, the United States had taken away 9 giant pandas from China, and the United Kingdom had taken away 6.

These are just the recorded numbers, there are even more giant pandas that are not included in the statistics.

In 1938, the giant panda "Pandora" was brought to the United States

China began to ban the capture of giant pandas

Later, China realized that the number of giant pandas had declined significantly. , and in the 1940s, foreigners began to restrict the capture of giant pandas, but such restrictions were just a face-saving measure.

At that time, China was in a war-torn era, so it had little time to care about these giant pandas facing massacre.

Even when foreigners were restricted, a large number of Chinese began to do business with giant pandas.

It was not until after the liberation of China that the protection of giant pandas was gradually put on the agenda, and it finally took decades to become our country's "national treasure".

Statistics of giant pandas in the wild

From the time giant pandas received attention to when they became "national treasures", although we can see humans' love for them, it is undeniable that this is a living giant panda. The history of panda massacre.

Why the giant panda can become a "national treasure"

However, there are so many rare species in China, why did the giant panda be chosen as our country's "national treasure"? Perhaps it can be explained from these aspects.

"Outstanding" among wild animals

Giant pandas are China's "living fossils"

The giant pandas we see now almost only eat bamboo, but the giant pandas eat only bamboo. Pandas were once serious carnivores.

Their evolution time is beyond our imagination. They began to be active on the land of China as early as 8 million years ago.

Contemporaneous species, such as mammoths, giant ground otters, saber-toothed tigers and short-faced bears, have all disappeared in the process of evolution.

So the giant panda is not only a unique species in my country, but also a rare "living fossil" in China. It has scientific research value to a large extent, so it has the opportunity to become a "national treasure".

The evolutionary history of giant pandas

The image of giant pandas is very popular

Almost everyone who has seen giant pandas will be attracted by their cuteness. With her chubby figure, round face, iconic dark circles, etc., she is full of cuteness.

In addition to being cute, people also particularly like their calm attitude.

The giant pandas we see have always been indifferent to the world, and everything around them seems to have nothing to do with them.

During World War II, a giant panda named "Ming" lived in the London Zoo. At that time, the city was being bombed by Germany, but "Ming" didn't care and continued to live as usual. Play alone.

It has nothing to do with me~

In the report, when citizens saw the attitude of "Ming" in the face of artillery shells, they all thought that it was a hero in the war.

The high-profile "Panda Diplomacy"

As a rare species, giant pandas were gradually protected until the 1940s. However, due to various factors, the number of giant pandas has declined. Little has been restored in decades.

Giant pandas are of great significance to China, and the high-profile "panda diplomacy" must be mentioned here.

In 1980, "Jingjing" given to London Zoo by China was enjoying a bath

In the 1940s, China's international status was very low. In order to ease the international attitude towards China, Soong Meiling represented the National Government in 1941 In gratitude for the United States' assistance during the Anti-Japanese War, the giant panda was presented as a "precious national gift with Chinese characteristics."

Since then, the giant panda has become a symbol of peace and friendship. Later, after the founding of New China, such "panda diplomacy" also played a positive role.

It is understood that between 1957 and 1982, 23 giant pandas were sent to 9 countries including the Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, and France.

Chinese giant pandas "Wu Wen" and "Xing Ya" are in the Netherlands Zoo

Later, in order to protect endangered species, they began to change the donation to "leasing". After entering the 21st century, It was changed to the method of "collaborative research".

As of 2017, there are 40 giant pandas born in China living overseas.

As a "national treasure", pandas have always been loved by people all over the world, which plays a positive role in maintaining China's image.

China’s “cutest diplomat”

As my country’s international status improves, it pays more attention to the protection of giant pandas.

However, when I think back to the experience of giant pandas before they became "national treasures", I still feel a sense of sadness. I only hope that giant pandas can receive more protection and love in the future.