Experts 're-assess' giant panda as China predicts it will no longer be considered 'endangered'

The giant panda will no longer be classified as “endangered” after its population in the wild jumped by 17 per cent in the space of a decade, Chinese officials have claimed.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Swiss-based organisation which classifies rare species on a seven-point scale, confirmed that its "bear specialist group" was “carrying out a re-assessment of the giant panda”.

China says that its efforts to conserve the animal and expand its natural habitat in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi are having a real impact. The total number of animals has been growing steadily for over 20 years.

In 1995, there were only about 1,000 wild pandas, a total that rose to 1,600 in 2003. Since then, the number has increased by a further 17 per cent to 1,864 in 2013, according to the State Forestry Administration.

Chinese officials appear convinced that the IUCN is set to declare the animal is no longer “endangered”, but merely “vulnerable” – a lower level of classification on a seven-point scale ranging from “extinct” to “least concern”.

“Scientifically, the wild population is increasing and the natural habitat is expanding,” said a source with “direct knowledge” of the possible change, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong daily.

However, a statement from the IUCN cautioned that its re-assessment of the giant panda was not yet complete and “no results are available”. The organisation could not say when an announcement would be made.

The recovery of the giant panda population has been held back by their notoriously low rate of reproduction. But preserving the species has become a matter of national pride in China. Several hundred animals are also held in captivity in zoos as far flung as Edinburgh and Adelaide.

Additional reporting by David Blair

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