From your linked article...
Pandas are very cute, but they don’t do much for their ecosystem, and they take away a lot of resources from other endangered plants and animals that support multitudes. Following is a transcript of the video.
Here’s a hot take — pandas are OVERRATED. Sure, they’re cute. SO cute that they show up in our logos, movies, and even on our feet. We’re obsessed! But every obsession has a dark side, and this one starts in China.
The Chinese government owns nearly all the giant pandas on earth. And American zoos will shell out up to $1 million a year to rent just one. Most sign 10-year “panda diplomacy” contracts, and if any baby cubs are born, they pay an additional one-time $400,000 baby tax.
That doesn’t even include extra costs like the bear’s enclosure, medical care, and mountains of bamboo. But zoos are far from going bankrupt over pandas. In 2012, attendance at the Edinburgh Zoo rose 51% after pandas arrived. And food and merchandise sales at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, nearly doubled from $5.5 million in 2000 to $10.3 million after their two pandas arrived in 2001.
While that money is great for the zoos, it’s not necessarily the best for the pandas. ...”
https://www.businessinsider.com/panda-most-overrated-animal-ever-2018-5
Even though we supposedly make money on the deal....I think it’s a bad deal. We need to OWN a couple Pandas. Tell China to stick it and see what they do.