The giant panda is no longer an endangered species according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The WWF said in a statement that there is a 17% rise in the giant panda population in the decade up to 2014. Hence, it is now downgraded from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable”.
Marco Lambertini, WWF Director General said, “The recovery of the panda shows that when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together, we can save wildlife and also improve biodiversity.
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The WWF has been working for decades to save the giant panda species. They have been developing reserves and working with local communities to build more established livelihoods without harming the pandas and the environment they live in. At present, there are 67 panda reserves where that protects about 2/3 of all wild pandas.
Yet, it is still important to note that giant pandas are still under threat. So even if this is a milestone to celebrate, we should still continue trying to save them. According to Lo Sze Ping, CEO of WWF-China, “there are still only 1,864 left in the wild.”
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