China Finds More Giant Pandas than Expected
Good news on the endangered species front (and you didn’t think there was such a thing!): A comprehensive survey has found 40 percent more giant pandas living in the wild in China than previously thought — nearly 1,600. The higher numbers may be the result of more sophisticated surveillance methods rather than an indication of a rebounding population, but researchers from the World Wildlife Fund and the Chinese government were still happy about their survey results. They caution, though, that pandas aren’t out of the woods yet. The animals are still threatened by heavy logging in the bamboo forests where they live, as well as by poaching. Also, their fractured habitat complicates the breeding process, a problem the Chinese government is trying to address by creating corridors to connect isolated pockets of habitat.
