‘If the panda goes, it will be because we have caused it’
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, 2015
GIANT PANDAS IN PERIL
A MEMBER of the bear family, the panda is adored worldwide and has been on WWF’s logo since the organisation was founded in 1961. Numbers rose by nearly 17 per cent between 2003 and 2013, but there are still fewer than 2,000 in the wild. This is why. . .
LOSS OF FOOD SUPPLIES: Their habitat is degraded by local people collecting firewood and harvesting medicinal herbs and bamboo — the pandas’ main food source. Roads and railways are being cut through the forests, which isolates panda populations and stops them breeding.
CLIMATE CHANGE: The areas where pandas live will become warmer as temperatures rise, driving them to higher locations. But as their habitat becomes more fragmented their ability to relocate will lessen.
TOURISM: This is growing in China, putting additional pressure on panda habitats.
Where they can be found
GIANT pandas live in the wild in just six mountain ranges in Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces in south- western China, shown in red on the map. The pandas you can adopt through WWF live in the Qinling Mountains, circled.