Giant Panda by artists Gillie and Marc

LOCATIONS

EDITION 1 - SINGAPORE - 19 May 2023 - 18 May 2024
Gardens By The Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Dr, Singapore 018953
Visit the sculpture, click for map >

__________________

CLICK HERE TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO WWF > 

NAME
Pau Pau

TITLE
Love The Giant Panda

GENDER
Female

AGE
13

FOUND
China

CONSERVATION STATUS
Vulnerable

This 13-year-old lady loves the solitary life, tucked away in her forest she spends her days roaming around thinking about her favourite food - bamboo. She must eat a lot of it to keep her energy levels up, particularly now that she is expecting a lovely little surprise, a baby cub! Making sure that everything is ready for her new arrival, she goes in search for the perfect den, all the while eating as much bamboo as she can.

The icon for wildlife conservation, the giant panda is beloved around the world, and for good reason! These adorable bears, found only in the mountainous regions of central China, were heading rapidly towards extinction. But thanks to a huge push for conservation efforts in the ‘60s, the giant panda has reclassified from rare to vulnerable, with around 1,800 now surviving in the wild. There are a total of 67 panda reserves in China that protect around two-thirds of the giant pandas in the wild and more than 50 per cent of the giant panda's habitat.

For most people, the only way to see a panda is in a zoo. With thanks to their iconic black and white camouflage markings, they become invisible in the masses of bamboo. And they spend a lot of time with the bamboo. Because bamboo provides little energy, pandas need to eat around 28 pounds a day to fill them up, this can take half a day to accomplish. This makes them a folivore, a herbivore specializing in eating leaves, yet they belong to the order Carnivora since they still have the digestive system of a carnivore.

As anti-social animals, pandas have an incredible sense of smell used to help them avoid one another. The only time they come together is to mate. Mating in captivity has become something that is notoriously difficult with natural mating occurring very rarely. The female will give birth to 1-2 cubs at a time, but in the wild, only one of the twins will survive as she cannot produce enough milk for two. She will choose the stronger of the two and leave the other to die. The babies are tiny, blind, and pink. At this time they are very vulnerable to predators, especially if the mother leaves the den to feed. They will feed on their mothers nourishing milk and will stay with their mothers until they are up to 2 years old. Their mothers will wait around 2 years before giving birth again.

Pandas are incredibly important in their temperate world and as such are known as being an "umbrella" species. With the protection of the giant panda, we are indirectly protecting it's local community and surrounding species where smaller species might not get the global recognition for conservation priority. Their greatest threat is habitat loss. Development of infrastructures such as roads, dams, and railways are shrinking and fragmenting their home making it harder for them to find new bamboo and mates. With a range already very small this is a real problem and further work to protect their habitat is crucial.

HOW TO HELP 

Inspired by animals that Gillie and Marc met on their travels, we invite the public to discover and interact with these beautiful creatures up close and personal – this allows audiences to connect, take photographs and share their favourite species with friends and family.

With more exposure comes more awareness and builds on the love we already have for animals around the world. With love comes a greater sense of urgency to create a change and save all endangered animals. 

​The sculpture will be aligned with the hashtag #LoveTheLast to raise unparalleled awareness about the sculpture’s cause across the globe.

To help protect these animals, please donate to the WWF: https://www.wwf.sg/

https://www.foodpanda.com/

SOURCES
https://www.wwf.sg/
https://www.iucn.org/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
https://www.awf.org/

EDITION 1 - SINGAPORE - 19 May 2023 - 18 May 2024
Gardens By The Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Dr, Singapore 018953
Visit the sculpture, click for map >

__________________

CLICK HERE TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO WWF > 

NAME
Peter Panda

TITLE
Love The Male Giant Panda

GENDER
Male

AGE
11

FOUND
China

CONSERVATION STATUS
Vulnerable

This young panda may be large but he is very hard to see! He spends most of his days hidden in the tall bamboo, his black and white fur acting as camouflage, and often, the only indications that you're in the presence of one is when he yanks down bamboo for his meal. Although he enjoys his solitary life, he is aware that it is nearly time to find a mate. The only problem is that he can’t find one! Instead, he discovers his home is being taken over by humans everywhere he looks, the bamboo torn down to make way for their construction. He hopes there is still someone left to love! 

The iconic giant panda is thought to have roamed the earth for 8 million years, however another fossil of a bear very similar to the panda was found in Spain which is said to be 11.6 million years old! Today, and for a very long time now, these black and white bears have lived exclusively in the mountains of central China. To the Chinese people, the giant panda is very important. They are thought to be like warriors, tough enough to survive freezing temperatures, industrious enough to fend for themselves, strong enough to climb trees, and have a gentle temperament to signify the importance of peace and friendship. Their black and white colours are thought to be the physical representation of Yin and Yang, the balance that creates peace and harmony.  

Pandas are very particular when it comes to their favourite and almost exclusive food, bamboo. They have an extended wrist bone, specially adapted to act like a thumb which helps them to grip plants and munch with ease. Pandas will eat almost any species of bamboo but it’s very important that they focus on eating two specific species in order to ingest vital nutrients and avoid starvation. Bamboo is very poor nutritionally, so pandas need to eat a lot. But, what goes in must come out, pandas poop around 40 times per day!

With an incredible push for conservation, aided by the change of mentality across the world, Panda's are being valued for their true beauty as opposed to their fur for clothes - The giant panda provides an inspirational story. But, although population numbers are going up, there is still a long way to go before this bear and it's local community is safe. Mining, hydro-power, tourism, and infrastructure construction are the next key areas to tackle. We need to work on protecting the habitat of the panda whilst looking for alternative and more sustainable economic opportunities for local communities.

HOW TO HELP 

Inspired by animals that Gillie and Marc met on their travels, we invite the public to discover and interact with these beautiful creatures up close and personal – this allows audiences to connect, take photographs and share their favourite species with friends and family.

With more exposure comes more awareness and builds on the love we already have for animals around the world. With love comes a greater sense of urgency to create a change and save all endangered animals. 

​The sculpture will be aligned with the hashtag #LoveTheLast to raise unparalleled awareness about the sculpture’s cause across the globe.

To help protect these animals, please donate to the WWF: https://www.wwf.sg/

Mark Gavin
Michael Gavin
Carolyn Stubbs
James Brownsea

SOURCES
https://www.wwf.sg/
https://www.iucn.org/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
https://www.awf.org/