Were Pandas Ignored by Evolution?
Because the giant panda has the configuration of a carnivore, some evolutionists say that it is an evolutionary failure, or left behind by evolution. This speculation is based on evolutionary presuppositions and limited thinking, and entirely unwarranted.
These critters are baffling, I'll allow. They are classified as bears and have the innards of carnivores, but primarily eat bamboo. A lot of it. Bamboo isn't exactly full of protein and other nutrients, so what gives with these black and white vegetarians? It turns out that they know how to get what they need, their Creator gave them the right equipment, despite the protestations of Darwin's Disciples.
Modified from "Giant Panda Tai Shan" / Fernando Revilla / Wikimedia Commons |
Is the giant panda a poorly evolved vegetarian? Or highly specialized, well-designed herbivore, a living link to a time when all animals were vegetarians? Despite having teeth, jaws, and a short digestive tract typical of the more carnivorous members of the bear family, the giant panda depends on a bamboo diet. Though occasionally enjoying a meaty meal, the giant panda subsists primarily on a daily diet of 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo leaves, stems, and shoots. The giant panda is an endangered species, and its vulnerability to habitat destruction makes understanding of how it meets its nutritional needs of great importance if it is to be protected rather than allowed to succumb to the evolutionary ideal of survival of the fittest.To read the rest, click on "Giant Panda’s Vegetarian Plight: An Evolutionary Dilemma?"