Editing Giant panda (section)

=== Population ===

In 2006, scientists reported that the number of pandas living in the wild may have been underestimated at about 1,000. Previous population surveys had used conventional methods to estimate the size of the wild panda population, but using a new method that analyzes [[DNA]] from panda [[Feces|droppings]], scientists believed the wild population were as large as 3,000.<ref name="Britannica Earth" /> In 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13 reserves in 1998.<ref name="BBC_06-07">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5085006.stm |title=Hope for future of giant panda |work=BBC News |date=20 June 2006 |access-date=14 February 2007 |first=Helen |last=Briggs |archive-date=27 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127095710/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5085006.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> As the species has been reclassified from "endangered" to "vulnerable" since 2016, the conservation efforts are thought to be working. Furthermore, in response to this reclassification, the [[State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China|State Forestry Administration of China]] announced that they would not accordingly lower the conservation level for panda, and would instead reinforce the conservation efforts.<ref>[http://www.forestry.gov.cn/main/195/content-902929.html The Panda is still endangered species, and the conservation efforts still need to be reinforced] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913153155/http://www.forestry.gov.cn/main/195/content-902929.html |date=13 September 2016 }} ''State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China'' (in Chinese)</ref>

In 2020, the panda population of the new national park was already above 1,800 individuals, which is roughly 80 percent of the entire panda population in China. Establishing the new protected area in the [[Sichuan|Sichuan Province]] also gives various other endangered or threatened species, like the [[Siberian tiger]], the possibility to improve their living conditions by offering them a habitat.<ref>{{Cite web|title=China forges ahead with ambitious national park plan|website=[[National Geographic Society]]|date=27 August 2020|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/china-new-national-park-system|access-date=2021-03-31|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303001312/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/china-new-national-park-system}}</ref> Other species who benefit from the protection of their habitat include the [[snow leopard]], the [[golden snub-nosed monkey]], the [[red panda]] and the [[complex-toothed flying squirrel]].<ref name="No longer endangered"/>

In July 2021, Chinese conservation authorities announced that giant pandas are no longer endangered in the wild following years of conservation efforts, with a population in the wild exceeding 1,800.<ref name="No longer endangered">{{Cite web|title=Giant pandas no longer endangered in the wild, China announces|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=9 July 2021|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/giant-pandas-no-longer-endangered-in-the-wild-china-announces|access-date=2021-07-11|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711055255/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/giant-pandas-no-longer-endangered-in-the-wild-china-announces|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Conservation efforts have saved China's giant pandas from the endangered species list|website=[[CBS News]]|date=10 July 2021 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/giant-pandas-off-endangered-species-list-china/|access-date=2021-07-11|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711055254/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/giant-pandas-off-endangered-species-list-china/|url-status=live}}</ref> China has received international praise for its conservation of the species, which has also helped the country establish itself as a leader in endangered species conservation.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Greening East Asia: The Rise of the Eco-Developmental State |date=2020 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=978-0-295-74791-0 |editor-last=Esarey |editor-first=Ashley |location=Seattle |jstor=j.ctv19rs1b2 |editor-last2=Haddad |editor-first2=Mary Alice |editor-last3=Lewis |editor-first3=Joanna I. |editor-last4=Harrell |editor-first4=Stevan}}</ref>{{Rp|page=8}}