After 3 Decades Giant Pandas Are No Longer Endangered, and It Gives Us a Glimmer of Hope

For the first time since 1981, it’s safe to say that giant pandas are no longer endangered. This amazing news was shared by the Chinese government, as with over 1,800 giant pandas living in the wild, they are now reclassified from “endangered” to “vulnerable.” We applaud the decades of hard work it took to get here, but the road to full recovery is yet to be secured.

We at Bright Side are loud advocates of animal protection, and while there’s still a long way to go to ensure the safety of the species, this remarkable feat calls for some celebration.

Habitat loss led to the decline of the giant pandas in the 1980s.

Giant pandas almost exclusively feed on bamboo. But sadly, the forests where bamboo grows have often been logged and harvested. And while the Chinese government banned logging in giant panda habitats in 1998, the damage was already done.

Habitat loss cleared for agriculture, timber, or fuelwood has been one of the main reasons for the degradation of the pandas’ forests. And the situation in the 1980s became so dire that the estimated number of giant pandas roaming in the wild plummeted to around 800.

Building wildlife reserves to stimulate the breeding of the giant pandas

Wildlife reserves were established across China to ensure that the pandas lived in a hospitable environment that increased their likelihood of breeding. Compared to 1998, when there were only 13 reserves in China, there are currently 67 and counting, which protect over two-thirds of the entire giant panda population in the wild.

The Chinese government has also worked hard to restore and protect the bamboo habitats in hopes to decrease the risk of starvation among giant pandas.

Creating the Giant Panda National Park

In the past decade alone, the number of giant pandas living in the wild has increased by 17%. And considering how infrequently pandas breed, this kind of success is really impressive.

It has been declared that one of the most crucial ways to save the giant panda species is to protect their habitat. This is why the Chinese government, with the help of organizations like the WWF, has been heavily invested in creating “a safe haven” for pandas by building the Giant Panda National Park. It spans 10,476 square miles and accounts for over 80% of the Chinese giant panda population.

Over 3 decades of hard work has finally produced results.

Even though the giant panda is no longer classified as endangered, conservation efforts must not be loosened.

The IUCN first removed the giant pandas from the endangered list in 2016, but at the time, the Chinese government deemed it too soon to make such a declaration. Today, the Chinese government made the entire world happy by reclassifying the species from endangered to vulnerable, a true reason for celebration!

How do you feel about this news? Do you agree that the hard work put into ensuring the safety of the giant pandas should continue to be a priority?

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