No! No! No! No! Just No!
If that’s all you wanted to know, then you can move on to the next topic.
Pandas do not make good pets.
Period.
There was a time when nobody really knew what a panda was.
I remember being in grade school and I brought a National Geographic magazine to school just to show to a student teacher that pandas do exist. We were tasked to draw our favorite animal the day before and I drew a panda and the teacher said it was a nice dog.
I explained that it wasn’t a dog, that it was a panda.
And he didn’t know what it was. He even called another teacher to show my picture and they both agreed it was a nice drawing of a dog.
Nowadays, everyone knows what a panda is.
Thanks to Kung Fu Panda and foodpanda, pandas have become ubiquitous.
Everyone thinks of them as cute.
And make no mistake, I do think they are cute. Their antics make me laugh and still want one. And yeah I wanna hug one because they’re so fluffy.
Too bad you can’t have one as a pet.
My Childhood Dream Realized… and Ruined.
Back in 2019, we went to Singapore.
Not to shop.
But to go visit the Singapore Zoo.
And we booked the all-day tour so we could also explore the animals at night.
One of the highlights of that visit was to go see the pandas.
Now I already had high expectations because I had spent most of my life reading about them, seeing videos about them, watching documentaries, and basically immersing myself in the subject so much that you could say I was a bit obsessed.
The difference between seeing a panda in the pages of a National Geographic magazine or in a video is that you can get up close and personal to them.
In an actual zoo, they’re a bit far. Just far enough that you can still see them, but not bother them too much with your presence.
Now I understand that that’s how it’s supposed to be. I just had this foolish dream that I would be right there in front of one and maybe get to hear what it sounds like or smell like. Hec, I even had a crazy dream that there’d be a panda petting zoo which I know is not a really good idea because despite how cute pandas look or act, they can be very dangerous.
We were able to see the pandas but they were just lying around, sleeping.
But then some very loud people walked into the panda area and bothered the bears that one sought refuge. It’s sad when there are disrespectful people like this in zoos especially if there are signs placed all over the place instructing them to be quiet and not to tap on the glass.
We stayed a little longer but the pandas refused to come out after that.
What Makes a Panda Dangerous?
A panda is a bear. And a bear is a bear is a bear is a bear.
Bears, no matter how society has portrayed them as cute animals, are dangerous. No matter their size or appearance.
First, they didn’t get the monicker giant panda for no reason at all. These are huge animals! An adult panda can be anywhere between 4 feet to 6 feet and 3 inches long and weigh about 254 pounds.
That’s enough to crush an average sized human. (wait, what’s average these days? Oh let’s just say an average Filipino man who is about 5’4” and 120 to 130 lbs.)
Not convinced?
Well, okay. Think about what pandas eat.
Yeah, bamboo.
Bamboo is hard.
And pandas eat that bot as snacks but as their main diet.
Think of what it takes to eat something as hard as bamboo.
Need a visual?
Here:
And that’s a baby.
This is an adult with bamboo crushing teeth.
If it can crush bamboo, how much more your arm?
A giant pandas bite force is rated at 1300 Newtons (N).
It only requires 900 pounds-force to crush a human femur
You’ll also need a ton of bamboo trees to keep these things fed.
A panda eats about 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo per day. Now we have lots of bamboos in the farm but I don’t think we’ll be able to sustain feeding that amount of bamboo per day for a month or two.
Lastly, there’s a reason why Bravestarr shouts “Strength of the Bear” when he needs some extra muscle. Bears are surprisingly strong.
Pandas included.
A panda may not realize it but their playful nature may cause injury especially if they go too far without meaning to. Looking back at the videos I watched where playful pandas teased their keepers, I saw that there was really some urgency there for those people to keep the bears away from them.
It is Technically Impossible to Own a Pet Panda
Let’s say you’re not dissuaded from the idea of getting a panda as a pet, China will not allow it. Even the most prestigious zoos who feature pandas as part of their display do not technically own these bears.
Instead, these pandas are loaned to these zoological foundations for 10-years before being required to hand them back over to China.
And if you have thoughts of keeping one illegally, let me just say that that comes with a very heavy sentence and fine. Some serious jail time is involved and you might have to serve time in China.
If you really, really, really, really want one, you might want to try what China did in the past which is to paint Chow-Chows black and white and place them in zoos in place of pandas.
Looks close enough.
I guess.
Just as cute?
Maybe.
Ok, maybe that can satisfy some craving for some panda loving.
I wonder if dog breeders are working on developing a panda-looking chow-chow.
No Pics?
Because they were far and all you could really see were lumps of black and white fur, the pictures we took were not so good. When they finally got up to go to their cave, they moved surprisingly fast that we weren’t able to get a good picture.
I’ll post pics of them in the future. I just have to go digging for them in my hard drive.