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The number of wild giant pandas increased by nearly 17% between 2003-2013, according to the latest Chinese government survey figures – now up to nearly 1,860.

The giant panda is a global conservation icon and the symbol of WWF. Thanks to decades of successful conservation work, wild panda numbers are beginning to recover, but they remain at risk. 

Human activities continue to be the greatest threat to their survival. An extensive giant panda nature reserve network exists, but one-third of all wild pandas live outside of protected areas in small, isolated numbers.

We’ve been working with the Chinese government to protect giant pandas since 1980 (the first international organisation to be invited to work in China), and those years of conservation work are paying off.

There are now 67 nature reserves covering over half of the pandas’ range and helping protect two-thirds of the wild panda population. Our aim is to expand the protected areas and connect more forests so that pandas can safely roam even further.

A great recent development is that the IUCN has now reduced the official threat level for giant pandas from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’. Proof that conservation works.