It's a great point about tunnel vision on the Panda at the expense of the unplushiable. I tend to look at conservation efforts through the lens of possibility, with the knowledge that some possibilities are more desirable than others.
Life builds on a platform of energy and material to create a magnificent world above and we can support it by protecting ecosystems at all scales. For the wild it's about discovering those critical cycles that can't easily adapt or restart. For humans, it is our social ecosystems that seem to need the most effort.