Why is the panda bear in danger of extinction?

Author: Laura McKinney
Date Of Creation: 8 August 2021
Update Date: 1 November 2024
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WHY THE PANDAS ARE ENDANGERED
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The panda bear is an animal species known worldwide. Its conservation issues, the raising of captive individuals and illegal trafficking are met with extensive media coverage. The Chinese government, in recent years, has taken steps to curb the decline of this species and seems to be getting positive results.

The first question we will answer in this PeritoAnimal article is why the panda bear is in danger of extinction, and whether that degree of conservation still holds. We will also comment on what is being done so that the panda bear does not go extinct.

panda bear: conservation status

The current population of the giant panda bear has been estimated at 1,864 individuals, not counting individuals under one and a half years of age. However, if we take into account only adult individuals who are capable of reproducing, the population would drop to less than 1,000 individuals.


On the other hand, the panda population is fragmented into subpopulations. These subpopulations are isolated along several mountains in China, and the degree of connectivity between them and the exact number of individuals that make up each of the subpopulations is unknown.

According to a survey conducted by the State Forestry Administration in 2015, the population decline has stopped and seems to be starting to increase. The reason why this population stabilization occurred is the small increase in available habitat, the increase in forest protection, in addition to reforestation actions.

Although the population appears to be increasing, as climate change accelerates, about half of the bamboo forests will be lost in the next few years and therefore the panda population will decline again. The Chinese government does not stop fighting for conserve this species and its habitat. It seems that the conservation status of the species has improved in recent years, but it is necessary to continue working to maintain and increase support and thus guarantee the survival of this emblematic species.


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Why the panda bear is threatened with extinction

A while ago, the giant panda spread throughout China, even inhabiting certain regions of Vietnam and Burma. It is currently restricted to certain mountainous regions of Wanglang, Huanglong, Baima and Wujiao. Like other endangered animals, there is no single reason for the panda bear's decline. This species is being threatened by:

Human actions, fragmentation and loss of habitat

The construction of roads, dams, mines and others infrastructure created by human beings it is one of the main threats faced by diverse panda populations. All of these projects increase habitat fragmentation, increasingly moving populations away from each other.


On the other hand, the increase in tourism unsustainable in certain areas can negatively affect pandas. THE presence of domestic animals and livestock, in addition to damaging the habitat itself, can also bring diseases and pathogens that can affect the health of pandas.

Loss of genetic variability

Continued habitat loss, including deforestation, has had an effect on giant panda populations. This fragmented habitat led to separation from large populations, resulting in isolated populations with a small number of individuals.

Genomic studies have shown that the panda's genomic variability is wide, but if exchanges between populations continue to decline due to lack of connectivity, the genetic variability of small populations can be compromised, increasing their vulnerability to extinction.

Climate changes

The main source of food for pandas is the bamboo. This plant has a characteristic synchronous flowering that causes the death of the entire bamboo block every 15 to 100 years. In the past, when a bamboo forest naturally died, pandas could easily migrate to a new forest. These migrations cannot be done now because there is no connectivity between the different forests and some panda populations are at risk of starvation when their bamboo forest flourishes. Bamboo, in addition, is also being affected by the increase in the greenhouse effect, some scientific studies predict losses in the bamboo population of between 37% to 100% by the end of this century.

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Solutions to prevent panda bear extinction

The giant panda is one of the species for which more actions have been taken in order to improve its conservation status. Below, we will list some of these actions:

  • In 1981, China joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which made the trade of this animal or any part of its body illegal;
  • The publication of the Nature Protection Law in 1988, it outlawed the poaching of this species;
  • In 1992, the National Giant Panda Conservation Project launched a conservation plan establishing the panda reserve system. There are currently 67 reservations;
  • As of 1992, the Chinese government allocated part of the budget to build infrastructure and train reserve staff. Established surveillance to combat poaching, controlled human activities within the reserves and even relocated human settlements outside the reserve area;
  • In 1997, the Natural Forest Conservation Program to mitigate the effects of flooding on the human population had a positive impact on pandas, as massive logging of trees in panda habitat was prohibited;
  • That same year, the Grano a Verde Program, in which farmers themselves reforested areas of eroded slopes in regions inhabited by the panda;
  • Another strategy has been to breeding pandas in captivity to later reintroduce them in nature, in order to increase the genetic variability of the species in the most isolated subpopulations.

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If you want to read more articles similar to Why is the panda bear in danger of extinction?, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.