DOHA: The reported plan of Al Khor zoo in Qatar to bring a panda has created a furore in sections of social media with opinion divided on whether Qatar should be undertaking such a move.
Local media reported last week the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has invited tenders for the construction of a panda enclosure at Al Khor zoo. The closing date is 24 September, 2020. Though Al Khor Family Park or Ashghal have not officially reacted to the report, it has set off a frenzied debate in sections of social media about the potential presence of pandas in Qatar. It is not clear how many pandas would be brought to the country.
Many who reacted to the report opined the desert climate of Qatar is not suitable for pandas, which are used to a cold climate. The torrid heat in the country would be unbearable for the animal. “Leave pandas where pandas belong,” said Maria Pendlebery, on Change.org.
“It’s the wrong environment for these beautiful animals that like lush greenery,” said Kay Wardman.
“We share this planet with all live creatures and we do not have the right to adjust their lives for the sake of our entertainment,” said Aida Mammadova.
“Doha needs to show they care about animal rights before importing animals for a zoo. There have been many public requests to close the animal section of Souk Waqif,” said another animal lover.
Random online reactions have grown into an online petition demanding that pandas not be brought into Qatar. However, the petition has drawn only a tepid response, with only around 850 people signing at the time of going to press. Almost all those who oppose the arrival of the exotic animal in Doha are worried about ‘the hardships the scorching summer in the country’ would inflict on the animal.
“We ask Al Khor zoo management to reconsider this plan. Please do not bring them into Qatar just so people can feast their eyes on them. We ask them to dedicate the same resources (financial and otherwise) to those who are in more desperate need of shelter and safety: the animals who are already on the streets of Qatar!” the petition says.
The petition adds: “Pandas live in temperate climates in forests with plenty of rainfall year round. They do not belong to the scorching desert environment. There is no need to uproot them from their native habitat. They have been critically endangered for years and have only just been re-classified as vulnerable. “
At the same time, there is also the view that the very fact that Ashghal has invited a tender to build a panda enclosure means the authorities want to create the right atmosphere for the animal, with the right climate. Also, the opposition from some quarters would prompt the authorities to create the right facilities for pandas to assuage the concerns of animal lovers.
Despite the furore, pandas are crowd-pullers at zoos all over the world. A report in 2013 said the number of visitors at a zoo in Edinburgh jumped by more than 51 per cent following the arrival of Tian Tian and Yang Guang. There is no doubt cuddly pandas would cast a spell over visitors to Al Khor zoo, too.
Pandas, native to China, live nowhere else in the world outside captivity. China gifts them to foreign governments and zoos in what is called ‘panda diplomacy’. The panda was an “endangered” species and saved from extinction through intensive efforts by China.
Earlier this year, Al Khor Family Park reopened after undergoing a renovation at a cost of QR32mn. The new facilities added to the park include a mini zoo with 315 animals of 49 species, including the rhinoceros, crocodile, giraffe, bear, tiger, cheetah, monkey and many species of birds.