Global nature conservation group to assess status of giant pandas living wild in China after survey shows population rise

A global nature conservation organisation will assess the status of the giant panda after a Chinese survey found the population of the threatened species in the wild grew by nearly 17 per cent over a decade.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Swiss-based group that classifies rare species on a seven-point scale, confirmed on Tuesday that it was carrying out an assessment of the status of China’s national treasure.

The Sunday Morning Post reported on Sunday that the giant panda’s status on the IUCN red list of threatened species could be downgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” after an increase in the species’ population in the wild and its habitat expanded.

“The bear-specialist group is carrying out an assessment of the giant panda’s status, based to a large extent on results of [China’s] fourth national survey, as well as an assessment of habitat conditions,” said Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN’s red-list unit.

China’s fourth national panda census, concluded in 2015, found the number of pandas in the wild – recorded at 1,864 at the end of 2013 – had increased by nearly 17 per cent since the third survey in 2003. There were also another 375 giant pandas in captivity, the survey found.