Why Save the Giant Panda?

by our beloved Tom McCoy who passed away in March of 2013

The debate about wildlife preservation has been going on for some time. As resources for attending to the problem shrink and the need for underwriting societal problems rise, there is a tendency to look at some weakened animal populations and say let nature take its course, referring to a fundamental tenet of Darwin’s theory that the most adaptable species become strong or stronger and therefore survive. Species who do not are lost and the mantra of survival of the fittest is chanted everywhere.

The idea of “natural selection” presented in The Origin of Species seems to make sense. But during the time that’s elapsed since its publication in 1859, a number of elements have become apparent that make what we’re witnessing in dozens of cases where species are judged to be endangered is a process of “unnatural selection.” Many of the stresses on animal populations are human based: population growth, habitat destruction, hunting and poaching, economic imperatives, water and air pollution, and now, some are suggesting climate change and a warming planet are having dramatic and negative effects on wildlife.

Read the rest of the story here.