Once the symbol of conservation efforts for wildlife at the brink of extinction, the giant panda is gradually coming back, with its status moving up from "endangered" to just "vulnerable".
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the change the status of the giant panda as part of updates the organization made on its red list of endangered wildlife species. The IUCN made the upgrade of the animal's status based on population surveys, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the survey conducted between 2011 and 2014, there are currently around 1,864 adult giant pandas living in the wild, which is an increase from the 1,596 estimate by a similar survey conducted between 1998 and 2002. And with the number of cubs added, the total number of pandas alive today is estimated to total around 2,060 individuals.
Conservation experts welcomed the development, lauding the efforts made by the Chinese government to protect the species.
The country, which has adopted the animal as a national icon, has put up an extensive panda conservation program in the 1990s, establishing 67 panda reserves dedicated to caring for and breeding the species. Chinese authorities have also strengthened their campaign against poaching of the animal and the destruction of its habitat.
Furthermore, the country's rent-a-panda program, where zoos from around the world get the chance to exhibit the furry animals for a fee, has contributed greatly to the development of better facilities for breeding and shelter.
However, experts also cautioned that it is still too early to say that panda conservation has truly succeeded. According to Wolong Nature Reserve conservation and sustainable development senior adviser Marc Brody, the increase in population figures might not necessarily mean that pandas are thriving in the wild and might just be due to better surveying techniques, National Geographic reported.
Meanwhile, the IUCN also warned that the increase might be short-lived. The organization said that warmer temperatures brought about by climate change could potentially destroy more than a third of the panda's natural habitat, leading to a decline in its numbers and the negating the gains made in the 20 years of conservation efforts.
The IUCN stressed that it is important to continue the work and be prepared to deal with new threats to protect the panda further.