What makes giant pandas vulnerable to extinction

Giant pandas first became endangered in due to excessive poaching in the 80s and deforestation, depleting their bamboo food source. A fickle species, bamboo can grow extensively in mountainous or barren lands, but then dies in the winter.

This forces giant pandas in those areas to relocate for their food. And new threats loom. Their numbers in Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve, an important panda refuge, nearly tripled from in to more than 1, in Male takins can be dangerous, particularly during rutting season. During a nine-year period in the Qinling Mountains, they killed 22 people and injured Takins strip bark from trees for food , exposing them to deadly fungal infections and insects.

As a result, the composition of the forest changes—fewer large trees, more shrubby undergrowth. Pandas mark trees with a waxy substance secreted from glands beneath their tails as a way to communicate and find mates.

But when takins rub against trees to relieve itchiness, they can eliminate or diminish the scent marks. According to Wang, northern Chinese boars may be even more troublesome for pandas.

Both are protected in China. No official estimate of boar numbers exists, but anecdotally it appears that they outnumber takins, their range is larger, and their impact on the environment far more pronounced, he says. Each spring, young bamboo shoots provide a valuable source of protein and nutrients for pandas, particularly for pregnant or lactating mothers. But boars also like to eat young shoots, and research shows that pandas avoid foraging in areas inhabited by boars.

Meanwhile, panda numbers increased in neighboring areas with few boars. Furthermore, boars carry diseases such as canine distemper and swine fever, which can jump to other species. Giant pandas have very few natural predators , and in the past, animals such as snow leopards, a type of wild dog called a dhole, and wolves kept takin and boar numbers in check. But these apex predators have nearly disappeared , according to a study co-authored by William McShea , a wildlife ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, in Front Royal, Virginia.

Wildlife officials lack sufficient data on either takins or boars to develop management plans that would balance their numbers and needs with those of pandas, according to Wang. In his book The Last Panda , naturalist George Schaller described the panda as a species beset by poaching, habitat loss, and bad management.

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WWF has been working with the government since on initiatives to save the world's most famous bears and their unique habitat. We've helped to establish an integrated network of giant panda reserves and wildlife corridors as well as working with local communities to develop sustainable livelihoods and minimise their impact on the forests.

The number of panda reserves has jumped to