4 September 2016
The giant panda is no longer an
endangered species, following decades of work by conservationists to save it.
The official status of the
much-loved animal has been changed from "endangered" to
"vulnerable" because of a population rebound in China.
The change was announced as part
of an update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
But the update also brought bad
news. The eastern gorilla, the world's largest primate, is now endangered.
Efforts by China, which claims
the giant panda as its national animal, have brought its numbers back from the
brink. The latest estimates show a population of 1,864 adults.
There are no exact figures for
the numbers of cubs, but estimates bring the total number of giant pandas to
2,060.
"Evidence from a series of
range-wide national surveys indicate that the previous population decline has
been arrested, and the population has started to increase," said the
IUCN's updated report.
"The improved status
confirms that the Chinese government's efforts to conserve this species are
effective," it added.
But the rebound could be
short-lived, the IUCN warned. Climate change is predicted to wipe out more than
one-third of the panda's bamboo habitat in the next 80 years.
"And thus panda population
is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two
decades," the report said.
It added: "To protect this iconic
species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are
continued and that emerging threats are addressed."
John Robinson, a primatologist
and chief conservation officer at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told the
AFP news agency: "When push comes to shove, the Chinese have done a really
good job with pandas.
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