They are cute and cuddly, but one wildlife expert argues that pandas should be left to go extinct.

Pandas are the rarest bears in the world. The giant pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., have become local celebrities and draw about 3 million tourists a year.

"The reason they need our help is that people are driving them to extinction. We are taking over their habitat, so we are the ones that have to help save them now," Brandie Smith, senior curator at the National Zoo, said.

Packham says he does not want the pandas to die but argues they might not be worth saving.

"But let's face it: Conservation, both nationally and globally, has a limited amount of resources, and I think we're going to have to make some hard, pragmatic choices," Packham told the U.K. newspaper the Guardian.

The BBC host said while it is easy to raise money for something "fluffy," our money is better spent saving habitats, such as rain forests.

"The truth is, pandas are extraordinarily expensive to keep going. We spend millions and millions of pounds on pretty much this one species, and a few others, when we know that the best thing we could do would be to look after the world's biodiversity hot spots with greater care," Packham told the Guardian.

熊猫们很可爱，可爱到人们忍不住想要搂着它们。然而一位野生动物专家却认为应该任由熊猫走向灭绝。

熊猫是世界上最稀有的一种熊。在华盛顿的国家动物园里面，大熊猫已成为地方上的明星，每年都会吸引大约3000,000游客。

国家动物园的资深管理员史密斯波顿说："正是因为人类促使大熊猫濒临灭绝，它们才需要我们的帮助。我们在改变熊猫的习性，因此我们就成了要去拯救他们的人。"

派克汉姆说，他也不想熊猫灭绝，但是它们不值得人类去拯救。

派克汉姆对英国卫士报说："但是让我们面对现实：在国家和全球范围内对自然环境的保护，拥有的资源有限，我认为我们将必须作出一些艰难而务实的选择。"

英国广播公司主持人说，为"有绒毛的"东西（熊猫）筹钱很容易，我们的钱最好花在保留原有的栖息地上，例如雨林。

派克汉姆对卫士报说："事实就是拯救大熊猫极其昂贵。我们知道，当我们知道我们能做的最有效的事情是细心照料这些维系着世界物种多样性的热门物种时，我们把千百万英镑差不多全花在这一个物种身上，还有少量其他的物种身上。"