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The giant panda is perhaps the most powerful symbol in the world when it comes to species conservation. Adored around the world, the distinctive black and white animal is a national treasure in China and has been the symbol of WWF since its formation in 1961. While its numbers are slowly increasing, the giant panda remains one of the rarest and most endangered bears …

Panda facts Giant pandas are found only in China. They were once widespread in southern and eastern China and in neighbouring Myanmar and North Vietnam. Today there are confined to temperate forest scattered across six mountain ranges in southwestern China: Minshan, Qinling, Qionglai, Liangshan, Daxiangling, and Xiaoxiangling. These forests are some of the most …

After a significant increase in recent years, China now boasts a network of 67 panda reserves, which safeguard almost two-thirds of the giant pandas in the wild and just over half of their existing habitat. But habitat loss and fragmentation remain the gravest threats to the survival of the species. A large proportion of the panda's habitat has already been lost: logged for timber …

The inspiration for our logo came from Chi-Chi: a giant panda that arrived at London Zoo in 1961 - the same year that WWF was created. Aware of the need for a recognisable symbol that would overcome all language barriers, WWF's founders agreed that the big, furry bear with her distinctive black and white coat would make a great logo. The first sketches were done by the …

Giant panda numbers are slowly increasing, but the rare bear is not out of the woods yet. Traditional threats to pandas such as poaching appear to be declining, but large-scale disturbances including mining, hydro-power, tourism and infrastructure construction are becoming more severe. WWF's 2015-2025 giant panda conservation strategy sets the course for panda …

The good news is that giant panda numbers are increasing. Slowly but surely this remarkable species is edging away from the brink of extinction - thanks to a host of successful conservation projects. But pandas still face a number of threats, particularly habitat loss and fragmentation, so extra efforts are needed to ensure that they continue to survive and thrive. Creating new …

History of the Giant Panda 11 March 1869 A hunter brings a panda skin to the French Jesuit, Armand David 13 April 1929 The Roosevelt brothers become the first foreigners to shoot a panda 1936 Ruth Harkness captures an infant panda and takes it to the USA, evoking universal sympathy for the plight of the panda and creating the ‘panda cult’ 1936-46 14 pandas are …

In a welcome piece of good news for the world’s threatened wildlife, the giant panda has just been downgraded from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’ on the global list of species at risk of extinction, demonstrating how an integrated approach can help save our planet’s vanishing biodiversity. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the positive change to the ...

Peaceful and mostly vegetarian, giant pandas have steadily lost their forest habitat to China's expanding human population. These striking animals are now confined to fragmented forest patches high in the mountains of southwestern China. These same mountains form the watershed for China's Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, whose basins are the economic heart of China and …