Comment by grndn

There is indeed a whole book about ecosystems and charismatic megafauna called "Do We Need Pandas?: The Uncomfortable Truth About Biodiversity"[1]. And there is debate among naturalists [2]

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9656950-do-we-need-panda... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/sep/23/panda-ex...