Name Sophie Chung Date 10/4/17 Hour 3rd

Current Events Article Summary Template

Title of Article: Livestock Grazing Harming Giant Panda Habitat

Author: Lucas, Tim
Source: Duke University
Date of Article: October 3, 2017

Part #1: Explanation

Grazing livestock, such as horses and cows, present a new threat to the survival of Giant
Pandas. Habitat degradation has affected one-third of all the giant panda habitat in China’s
Wanglang National Nature Preserve due to a nine-fold increase in livestock numbers in the
park. This was discovered by Chinese and U.S. scientists through a 20-year long experiment
to monitor changes of bamboo, livestock, and pandas within the park.

Part #2: Scientific Communication

Although this event has a strong negative impact on the environment and Earth, there are
changes that can be made that will be better for the environment in the long run. There
must be alternative livelihood options, such as tourism and forest stewardship, for the local
community to practice instead of animal agriculture. These other options are more
environmentally friendly, as well. In order to help this problem, there needs to be less
livestock so current animal agriculture farmers need to find other ways to support
themselves.
A very probable negative outcome of this is that giant pandas may become extinct because
free-range livestock has negatively impacted bamboos, which are 99% of giant pandas’ diet.
In addition, other species will be negatively affected due to habitat degradation.
According to the article, people need to reduce the number of livestock in panda habitats
(or just reduce the number of livestock in general) and scientists need to discover the
balance between panda conservation and land development. This will make the world
better because livestock contribute a significant amount of greenhouse gases that affect
climate change.
In the article, the researchers found that there are fewer and fewer signs of pandas in the
park’s valley. I think it is foolish that people/farmers and the government are so motivated
by money that they will endanger a species to birth cattle and other livestock just to have
them be killed prematurely.

Part #3: Connections

This article relates to my country because the diet in the
USA is heavily meat-based, so farmers need to tend to
cattle and livestock to give to the population. This means
that other countries are being deforested and animals
are becoming endangered to make room for the cattle to
be exported to other countries. Also, it related to the
world because of the impacts that animal agriculture has
on global warming.

https://nicholas.duke.edu/about/news/livestock-
grazing-harming-giant-panda-habitat.