Why paying for pandas is not so black and white

Why paying for pandas is not so black and white 18 May 2019 Jillian Ryan Post-doctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO and Carla Litchfield, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia Features correspondent Getty Images Understanding the true value of China's panda diaspora This article originally appeared on The Conversation, and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Though their conservation status is no longer “endangered”, there are still just 500 to 1,000 adult pandas left in the wild, in six isolated mountain ranges in south-central China. Getty Images Although no longer “endangered” there are still just 500 to 1,000 adult pandas left in the wild, in six isolated mountain ranges in China Trade considerations This is not to say overseas zoo placements have no conservation value. Getty Images Edinburgh Zoo’s receipt of two pandas in 2011 was linked to trade deals worth billions of dollars Financial strings attached For recipient zoos keeping pandas is an expensive business.