China’s wild giant pandas are no longer classified as endangered and are now listed as vulnerable, according to Chinese conservation officials. Eighteen hundred giant pandas are currently living in the wild.

The change is attributed to the improved living conditions of China’s wildlife, with the country now invested in protecting large areas of natural ecosystems. Conservations projects like China’s forest and wetland protection initiatives, the fishing ban in the Yangtze River, botanical gardens, and wildlife breeding bases have successfully bred large numbers of endangered species and facilitated their recovery.

China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reports, updated by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment official Cui Shuhong, advised the following:

Populations of several rare and endangered species have gradually recovered. The numbers of Siberian tigers, Asian elephants and crested ibises have grown rapidly.

Rare and endangered species such as the wild giant panda, Tibetan antelope and milu deer are living in better environments. The giant panda has been removed from the list of endangered animals, with 1,800 of them now living in the wildness.

According to WAMU 88.5, The International Union for Conservation of Nature removed giant pandas from its endangered list in 2016, making them internationally vulnerable for the last five years. In the year 2000, 1,100 giant pandas were living in the wild, and 422 were in captivity. By 2015, that number rose to 1,864, with there not being a significant change to today.

Colby Loucks, the World Wildlife Fund’s Vice President for Wildlife Conservation, stated the following:

“Thanks to decades of collaboration between the Chinese government, local communities, companies and NGOs, the giant panda’s future is more secure.”

“China’s successful conservation of giant pandas shows what can be achieved when political will and science join forces. Continuing these conservation efforts is critical, but we need to stay vigilant on the current and future impacts climate change may have on giant pandas and their mountainous forest habitat.”

This was some good news to kick off the week. Hopefully, there’s more to come.

Until Next Time…

(Sources)

Photo Credit: Sky News

Pruitt-Young, S. (2021, July 9). Finally Some Good News! China Says Giant Pandas Are No Longer Endangered. WAMU 88.5. https://wamu.org/story/21/07/09/finally-some-good-news-china-says-giant-pandas-are-no-longer-endangered/. 

Xinhua. (2021, July 8). Wild giant pandas in China no longer “endangered”. XinhuaNet. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-07/08/c_1310050135.htm.