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Giant Pandas - bullied and exploited for politics

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When  you watch some funny video compilations on the internet with Pandas falling down trees and rolling down hills endlessly, you might think they are not quite equipped for living in this world. Humans on the internet in the last decade certainly have formed an opinion that Giant Pandas are just meant to go extinct, that they are not build for survival and it’s a miracle they are still around. See some proofs here , here and  here . And indeed, their survival was threatened in the past. In this post I want to explore how it came to be why giant Pandas suffer from human misunderstanding and what effect this still has on us and them. Giant Panda - a picture book teddy bear The Giant Panda's magical allure So what is it with Giant Pandas  ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca )?  Why do we cherish them so much? These animals seem to be the unicorn of the animal world, a super model for highlighting conservation programs and marketing, in contrast to other animals. They have tota...

Animal Kingdom - A Natural History in 100 Objects

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I’ve recently finished this book and need to tell you that it will light up your curiosity about the natural world. In this post I will give a quick review why “Animal Kingdom - A Natural History in 100 objects” by Jack Ashby might be one of the best books about natural history. Why Animal Kingdom is so enjoyable First off, despite being very informative, Ashby's writing style is super accessible. You won't need to fear that he will throw around terms that make your head scratch, it is written as a popular science book. And I chuckled a lot, even laughed out loud. Did you think that a specimen of the penis worm in the Grant Museum London would cause interesting looks and comments by the visitors? Sure you would. Another plus is that you will look at nature differently after this book. As it mentioned in one of the introductions, knowing at what you’re looking at is making a walk through the fields or even through any wildlife habitat more enjoyable. A comparison is drawn to wal...