Competition with native wildlife could deter efforts to boost populations of the famous black-and-white bear in its native habitat.
Giant pandas have long been the poster child for endangered species. After decades of conservation efforts, the big black-and-white bear is now no longer considered endangered.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that pandas are completely out of the woods (or, in this case, the bamboo forest) or that conservation efforts can end, but it is nonetheless a big step in preserving giant pandas into the future.
Pandas are endangered for several reasons, the biggest of which is habitat loss. But the plight of the giant panda has just as much to do with the ecology of...
“It is probably too late for giant pandas in the wild.”
New research shows that leopards, wolves and other predators are vanishing in habitats dedicated to preserving pandas.
It may be one of the most recognisable symbols of conservation, but efforts to protect the giant panda have failed to safeguard large mammals sharing its habitats, according to research published Monday showing dramatic declines of leopards and other predators.
The giant panda has won the hearts of animal lovers around the world and images of the bamboo-eating creature with its ink-blot eye patches have come to represent global efforts to protect biodiversity. Since conservation efforts began, China has cracked down on poachers, outlawed the trade in panda hides and mapped out dozens of protected habitats.
The strategy is considered one of the most ambitious and high-profile programmes to save a species from extinction — and it worked. The panda was removed from the International Union for Conservation of Nature endangered species list in 2016 although it remains "vulnerable".
But a new study published on Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution has cast doubt over the idea that efforts to protect the panda automatically help all other animals in its territory.
Researchers found that the leopard, snow leopard, wolf and dhole — also known as the Asian wild dog — have almost disappeared from the majority of giant panda protected habitats since the 1960s.
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If the other animals in the ecosystem are disappearing it’s because the panda conservation is being done incorrectly.
