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China airlifts bamboo to quake-hit pandas

China has sent emergency relief to its Wolong Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in the Sichuan earthquake zone - home to 53 of the endangered creatures. The centre lies north of the provincial capital Chengdu, and just 30km from the epicentre of the devastating 12 May quake which claimed an estimated 50,000 …

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James Cleveland
Heart

It is depressing

That an evil regime is doing a better job of helping its occupants than a "liberal democracy".

George Johnson
Alert

Save the fluffy ones!

Sod the bleeding Panda's, what about the poor parents still desperately searching for their kids trapped in the rubble? It's always save the cute, fluffy animals isn't it?

Anonymous Coward
Gates Horns

Save the fluffy ones?

Difference is that the kids and parents aren't an endangered species. In fact, quite the opposite, so losing a few to the earthquake is potentially a good thing for over-population.

Chris Cheale

statistically

... there's less than 2000 Pandas and more than 1.3 billion people - from a purely statistical viewpoint the loss of one Panda in China is equivalent (as a percentage) to approximately 826,000 people.

So yes, do save the fluffy ones (and the not fluffy, I'd be of a similar viewpoint if it was say Manatee vs People). In the last 40 years or so there has been a 60% increase in the number of humans; we've out-competed almost every other species (rats, cockroaches and bacteria possibly exempt) leading to the biggest loss of species diversity since the K-T extinction event 65 million years ago.

AC
Thumb Up

population percentage changes ...

greati dea to save the pandas, 53 panda deaths will impact a lot harder on their total numbers than the death of a few chinese.

Graham Bartlett

@James Cleveland

Which "liberal democracy" did you have in mind here?

ImaGnuber

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking: performing more than one task at the same time.

Apparently several commenters have never heard of it.

I'm sure the Chinese gov't is quite capable of shipping some much needed food for the Pandas AND maintaining their relief efforts.

A.A.Hamilton
Flame

@James Cleveland

You what? Evil regime? Have you lived in China, ever? There's nothing evil about it. Mostly the people are caring, gracious, helpful and, above all, rightfully proud to be Chinese. In so many ways it is a far better place than UK, under RIPA - but you have to live there to discover this.

Jeff Minter

Oh, the humanity

Seems like the general consensus here is that the lives of Chinese people are worth less than pandas because there are more of them. And here I was, thinking human life was sacred, regardless of race, religion...or in this case, how populous the affected demographic were.

But then, that would require an ounce of humanity.

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