Perhaps no other mammal has been the beneficiary of such intense conservation efforts as the Giant Panda bear. Ailuropoda melanoleuca has become a world symbol of wildlife conservation, and China has expended considerable effort and money to recover the species. Of course a country that has been ecologically devastated by mega development projects and that has tolerated an obscene trade in endangered animal parts has extracted considerable positive propaganda from its panda recovery program. Nevertheless, thirty years of effort are meeting with success in the wild. Chinese authorities report in their fourth giant panda survey supported by World Wildlife Fund there are now 1,864 pandas living in the wild. That is a 16.8% increase over the decade. The population gains are made possible by an 11.8% increase in the panda's geographic range since 2003. There are currently 67 panda reserves in China, the only home of the black and white bear. The reserves benefit other endangered species such as the golden snub-nosed monkey, the red panda and serow; they also provide major freshwater conservation which benefits China's huge human population. WWF's senior vice-president for wildlife conservation said the panda increase is a victory worth celebrating. The Giant Panda has been WWF's logo since its founding in 1961.
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| courtesy: WWF |