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Earth China

Giant Pandas No Longer Endangered But Still Vulnerable, Says China (bbc.com) 32

Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo quotes the BBC: Giant pandas are no longer classified as endangered but are still vulnerable, Chinese officials say. The classification was downgraded as their number in the wild has reached 1,800.

Experts say that the country managed to save its iconic animal through its long-term conservation efforts, including the expansion of habitats. China considers pandas a national treasure, but have also loaned them to other countries as diplomatic tools. The latest classification upgrade "reflects their improved living conditions and China's efforts in keeping their habitats integrated", said Cui Shuhong, head of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation at a news conference. The new classification comes years after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had already removed the animal from its endangered species list and re-labelled it as "vulnerable" in 2016.

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Giant Pandas No Longer Endangered But Still Vulnerable, Says China

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  • Thats nice to know (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Viol8 ( 599362 )

    Unfortunately these creatures are an envolutionary dead end. Their slow route to extinction wasn't down to man - for once - but their own lack of willingness to breed. Its a shame an equivalent amount of money isn't being put into saving less photogenic but far more important species that are on the brink such as many insects which are the base of the food chain for a huge number of birds and mammals due to intensive farming and habitat loss.

    • Unwillingness to breed is only in issue in captivity. Wild pandas are doing the nasty all the time
      • by Viol8 ( 599362 )

        Clearly not enough to keep the species viable without help from man. The only reason they've been saved is they're cute fluffy veggie bears, if they'd been a lizard, fish, insect etc no one would have given a toss and they'd have been allowed to go extinct.

        • The species was viable without man. The main reason they are endangered (now vulnerable) is because of habitat loss. That's habitat not habits.

        • They can only breed in the wild given sufficient habitat, which is sadly lacking for them now.
    • Its a shame an equivalent amount of money isn't being put into saving less photogenic but far more important species that are on the brink such as many insects which are the base of the food chain for a huge number of birds and mammals due to intensive farming and habitat loss.

      SAVE THE MOSQUITO!

    • by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Sunday July 11, 2021 @11:08AM (#61572409)
      By "it wasn't down to man" you seem to be ignoring the destruction of their habitat? Also you seem to leave that their "unwillingness to breed" is "in captivity" as there are many animals that do not breed or survive well in captivity. Just those two inconvenient factors. . .
      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Viol8 ( 599362 )

        "destruction of their habitat?"

        Do you know how quickly bamboo grows? Its almost impossible to irradicate it short of concreting it over and even then it can break through. We're not talking tropical rain forest habitat here with trees that take 100 years to mature.

      • by PPH ( 736903 )

        To be fair, pandas don't breed that well in the wild either. And captive breeding programs, although difficult, have helped the pandas to recover. To the point that some environmentalists have argued that China doesn't have enough habitat left in which to release them. You can't argue both ways.

        What I see is some people arguing that saving pandas isn't "worth it" because management and captive breeding aren't helping push people back out of their habitats. "Might as well eat the pandas" some have said if w

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      One could say the same thing about the southern resident orcas [wikipedia.org]. They refuse to eat anything other than Chinook salmon, for which they compete with sea lions which we are not allowed to cull. In the rest of the world, sea lions are food for orcas.

  • This is good news for Po. [imdb.com]

  • China claims that all pandas on earth are the property of China. This is the as if the us gov claimed all bald eagles are the property of the US. Both these claims should be treated as equally without marit.
  • Save one species, exterminate 1000 others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

    The primary reason they have currently been saved is because the Chinese cherish Pandas: https://www.thedailychina.org/... [thedailychina.org]

    • Regarding the 6th mass extinction, China with their one-child policy, has possibly done more than any other country to prevent it.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • ! Safe numbers.

    Definite genetic bottle neck at a minimum.. Worst outcome loss of species.
    Good luck Pandas!
  • Good job China! Hopefully more countries will follow this example.

  • Do they mean...emotionally vulnerable? I didn't know pandas were so sensitive.
  • What wonderful news! I am always very happy to read such news about our surrounding world. I often do charity work to help endangered species and try to help our nature because in our time the state of our environment leaves much to be desired. But how good that in our time there are people who care about these problems. The MyImpactPower project really cares about this and attracts people to take care of the environment. Complete their challenges and make the world a better place. First of all, do it for y

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