By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/china-reports-increase-wild-panda-population Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Census shows China’s wild giant panda population growing World Feb 28, 2015 4:23 PM EDT Good news for China’s national treasure: Wild giant pandas, which have spent more than two decades on the endangered species list, are increasing in number. The species’s population throughout China grew by nearly 17 percent over the past decade, officials said Saturday, according to a census by China’s State Forestry Administration. The country’s fourth national giant panda survey documented a growth of 268 pandas to a total population of 1,864 in the country since the last census was conducted in 2003 — more than a decade after the species was downgraded from rare to endangered status. The report found that nearly 67 percent of wild giant pandas live in nature reserves, which also grew in number from 40 to 67, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which partially funded the census. Great news for #pandas! Numbers have increased by 16.8%. #CountPandas: http://t.co/SwFLmci37g RT pic.twitter.com/5mN8L572nX — WWF (@WWF) February 28, 2015 The giant panda has been the logo for the WWF since its inception in 1961 and has grown to become a worldwide symbol of the conservation movement. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
Good news for China’s national treasure: Wild giant pandas, which have spent more than two decades on the endangered species list, are increasing in number. The species’s population throughout China grew by nearly 17 percent over the past decade, officials said Saturday, according to a census by China’s State Forestry Administration. The country’s fourth national giant panda survey documented a growth of 268 pandas to a total population of 1,864 in the country since the last census was conducted in 2003 — more than a decade after the species was downgraded from rare to endangered status. The report found that nearly 67 percent of wild giant pandas live in nature reserves, which also grew in number from 40 to 67, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which partially funded the census. Great news for #pandas! Numbers have increased by 16.8%. #CountPandas: http://t.co/SwFLmci37g RT pic.twitter.com/5mN8L572nX — WWF (@WWF) February 28, 2015 The giant panda has been the logo for the WWF since its inception in 1961 and has grown to become a worldwide symbol of the conservation movement. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now