World Habitat Day: The Cheeky Panda and WWF

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when we say October? Falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes or chunky scarves, if you said anything of these things you get a gold star, if you said, ‘October marks World Habitat Day of course!’ you would get TWO gold stars.

Don’t get us wrong, we think pumpkin spice is VERY important, but conserving habitats is what we are here to talk to you about today, because without habitats our plants and animals wouldn't be able to survive, and we really don't want that.

So, first thing's first, quick refresher – what’s a habitat? A habitat is a place that meets all the conditions a plant or animal needs to survive, this might be a place where lots of food is available, or somewhere that provides just the right amount of sunlight and water. Our habitats are under threat though, this is due to a number of reasons like climate change, and industrial expansion! A habitat is a home, and we certainly don’t want to leave any creature without a home.

As part of our partnership with WWF, the money we raise could be going to support some vital habitat conservation programmes, and we’d like to tell you all about them today! So, grab your PSL, or other cosy drink of choice and let’s get into it!

Giant Pandas

You saw this one coming, didn’t you? Giant Pandas used to have habitats all across China, northern Vietnam and northern Myanmar, but today, the giant panda is found in just six mountain ranges in south-central China.

In fact, two-thirds of all pandas don’t live in their natural habitats at all, they now live in nature reserves due to the threat to their existence! The good news is, they are no longer considered endangered, but they are still threatened.

In 1980 WWF became the first conservation organisation invited to work in China – and they’ve been working with the Chinese government to help protect giant pandas ever since! This includes helping to keep more panda habitat intact. WWF also works with local communities to help them take up livelihoods that don’t negatively impact on panda’s habitats – like bee keeping! The money we raised could be spent on bamboo seedlings to be planted in run down panda habitats (and we promise, this isn’t the type we use to make our toilet roll!).

Photo Credit: WWF.

Tigers

Sadly, there are lots of animals around the world whose habitats are under threat, and Tigers are one of them. Did you know there are more of these beautiful animals in capativity in the US alone, than there are in the wild and tiger populations have declined around 95% over the past 100 years.

In Nepal, wild tiger numbers hit an all-time low in 2010 with just 121 left in the wild. This was due to the huge pressure their habitats were facing. From road expansion, to turning their habitats into spaces for livestock to graze, and climate change causing events like forest fires and flooding, the tigers had to fight even harder for their survival.

WWF has been working with local communities, and the government of Nepal to strengthen tiger protection and the management and restoration of these vital habitats! In July 2022 the Nepal Government announced that Tiger populations had grown to an estimated 355 individuals - this is amazing news but the hard work isn't over yet! The donations we raise could go towards restoring grassland in Nepal so tiger populations can grow and strengthen year on year. 

Photo Credit: WWF.

So, there you go, every time you buy one of our promotional WWF products, we make a direct donation to WWF to support projects like these! We still have more projects to share so stay tuned, have you found our range of WWF products in store yet? Let us know in the comments below!