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China's panda population up by 268

China's panda population has grown by 268 to a total of 1,864 since the last survey was conducted more than a decade ago, according to the latest census conducted by China's State Forestry Administration from

India TV News Desk India TV News Desk Updated on: March 01, 2015 6:18 IST
china s panda population up by 268
china s panda population up by 268

China's panda population has grown by 268 to a total of 1,864 since the last survey was conducted more than a decade ago, according to the latest census conducted by China's State Forestry Administration from 2011 to 2014.

Nearly three quarters of the pandas live in the south-western province of Sichuan.

The remaining pandas have been found in the neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

Jia Jiansheng, deputy head of the Protection Division with China's State Forestry Administration, told the country's state broadcaster that in five of the six mountain chains where pandas can be found there was an increase in the numbers of the wild animals, with only the Xiaoxiangling mountain range experiencing a small drop in the number of pandas.

"The overall situation of the habitat for pandas is good," Jia said.

The survey shows 1,246 wild giant pandas live within nature reserves.

There are 67 panda reserves in China, an increase of 27 since the last survey.

More than 400 pandas live in captivity, CCTV said on Saturday, mostly in the breeding centres of Chengdu and Wolong, in Sichuan province.

The hurdle is finding a way to successfully introduce the pandas bred in captivity to the wild.

The country sent the first captive-bred panda into the wild in 2006 and a fourth was set free in October 2014.

A two-year-old giant female, named Xin Yuan, was meant to be released, but died in November 2014 from respiratory and renal failure at a conservation and research centre in Sichuan province.

The forensic investigation revealed that the panda had contracted canine distemper virus (CDV), a rare infection that has killed three more pandas in North-west China's Shaanxi province.

The survey introduced on Saturday also points to economic development as a main threat to the rare animal.

It says 319 hydropower stations and 1,339 kilometres (832 miles) of road have been built in the giant panda's habitat.

WWF (World Wildlife Fund) said it is the first time that large-scale infrastructure projects such as mining and railroads were referenced in the survey.

Traditional threats such as poaching are on the decline, WWF noted.

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