在中國的原生山地竹林中遊蕩的大熊貓不到2000隻，使大熊貓成為世界著名稀有物種的標誌。但是, 從2021年 7 月開始，中國宣布牠們不再是瀕危物種。

大家好，我是 Kyle Obermann。
The China Current特約撰稿人，
在這裡，我會向您展示「野性中國」。

大熊貓不再瀕臨滅絕的事實可能會讓人大吃一驚。牠們面臨了一場漫長的艱苦戰鬥才取得今天的現況。在之前的影片中，我們探討了大熊貓的傳統棲息地如何隨著時間的推移急劇減少和變得支離破碎，從而威脅著這個物種的未來。

事實上，人們曾經為了獲得的毛皮而獵殺牠們，這個潮流是由泰迪羅斯福的兒子們帶起的，他們在大約一個世紀前由四川把熊貓「標本」帶回美國，受到媒體的廣泛報導。西方國家發現大熊貓後，引發了國際上對大熊貓（無論死活）的需求熱潮。中國禁止偷獵大熊貓後，狩獵其他不受保護物種的獵人經常誘捕並殺害大熊貓。20世紀80年代，世界自然基金會的科學家喬治·夏勒 (George Schaller) 指出，偷獵是對大熊貓的最大威脅，提出中國需要一個護林員項目，他率先幫助中國建立了現代大熊貓保護項目。

今天，中國有超過 100 萬名護林員，很多人都在大熊貓的棲息地工作。自80年代以來，由於採取了阻止偷獵者、保護森林和種植竹子等保護措施，大熊貓的棲息地面積幾乎增加了一倍。從那時起，野生大熊貓的數量增加了五成。
許多人認為這些成果是由於中國成功的圈養大熊貓繁育和放生項目。在世界各地的熊貓研究中心和動物園中，還有633隻大熊貓，包括成都大熊貓研究基地的數百隻大熊貓，這使得成都因大熊貓而聞名中國乃至全球。

但實際上，迄今只有 12 隻圈養大熊貓被釋放到野外。放生有助提高基因多樣性，減少一些獨居的大熊貓種群近親繁殖。中國的研究人員希望繼續複製這成功經驗，甚至可能將把大熊貓放歸到從未發現過熊貓的新省份。這些項目提高了對大熊貓的科學認識，確保大熊貓免於滅絕，但大熊貓之所以不再瀕臨滅絕，主要是由於人們加強了對其棲息地的保護。

中國新建的大熊貓國家公園是最新舉措之一，目的是確保該物種的棲息和未來，以及應對竹子供應的不足，大熊貓的食物中99%是竹子。該公園現在覆蓋了大熊貓棲息地的 75%，僅去年公園裡的護林員就走過了超過10,000 公里進行例行保護巡邏，這距離相當於來回洛杉磯走到紐約市。新技術也有助保護大熊貓，例如遠程攝像系統與人工智能識別技術相結合來監測野外物種。中國政府還用衛星系統監測關鍵棲息地，和保護區內日益增長的非法活動。

下一次對所有野生大熊貓的調查將於明年開始持續至 2023 年，距離上次調查已有十年。隨著大熊貓從中國瀕危物種名單中刪除，可以預期牠們的數量繼續增加。
不過，留意大熊貓仍被列為「易危」物種。只有繼續確保當前對牠們優先保護的趨勢，牠們的未來才有保障。新國家公園的建立、更多的護林員參與保護以及今年下半年在中國昆明舉行的聯合國生物多樣性會議，都是熊貓繼續受到保護的好現象。 

There are less than 2,000 pandas roaming their native mountainous bamboo forests of China, making pandas a world famous icon for rare species. But, as of July this year, China declared they are no longer an endangered species.

Hi, I’m Kyle Obermann, Nature Contributor for The China Current, showing China’s wild side.

The fact that pandas are no longer endangered may come as a big surprise. They faced a long uphill battle to get where they are today.

In a previous episode, we explored how the panda’s traditional habitat was dramatically reduced and fragmented over time, threatening the species’ future.

In fact, they once were even hunted for their pelt… a trend started by Teddy Roosevelt’s sons who won widespread media acclaim for the “specimens'' they brought back to America from Sichuan almost a century ago.

The discovery of the giant panda by the West sparked an international wave of demand for pandas, dead or alive. After China banned panda poaching, hunters of other non-protected species frequently snared and killed pandas. In the 1980s, George Schaller, a scientist with the World Wildlife Fund, which first helped establish China’s modern panda protection programs, noted that poaching was their greatest threat and that China needed a ranger program.

Today, there are over a million rangers in China, many working inside the giant panda’s remaining habitat… the size of which has almost doubled since the ‘80s, thanks to protection efforts like stopping poachers, protecting forestsand planting bamboo.
And pandas numbers in the wild have increased by 50% since then.

Many assume these gains are due to China’s successful captive panda breeding and release programs. There are an extra 633 pandas in panda research centers and zoos across the world, including the hundreds at the panda research base in Chengdu, which has made the city locally and globally famous for pandas.

But, in reality, to date only 12 captive bred pandas have been released into the wild. The releases have helped boost genetic diversity and reduce inbreeding of some isolated panda populations. Researchers in China hope to continue to replicate this success, and there are even murmurs of releasing pandas into a new Chinese province where they are no longer found.

These programs have advanced scientific understanding of pandas and secured the panda against extinction, but the reason pandas are no longer endangered is primarily due to the increased protection of their habitat.

China’s new Giant Panda National Park is one of the country’s most recent initiatives to secure the species’ habitat and future, and any threats to the availability of bamboo, which makes up 99% of a panda's diet. The park now covers 75% of the panda’s habitat, and last year alone rangers in the park walked over
10,000km on routine protection patrols… the equivalent of walking from L.A. to New York City and back!

New technology is also helping protect the panda, like remote camera systems paired with AI recognition technology to monitor species in the wild and a growing system of satellites used by China’s government to monitor illegal activity in critical habitat and reserves.

The next survey of all wild pandas will begin next year and continue through 2023, ten years since the last survey. With pandas being taken off China’s endangered species list, we can expect an increase in their numbers. However, pandas are still listed as “Vulnerable”.

Their future is only secure if the current trend of prioritizing protection continues.

The formation of the new national park, increased participation of rangers, and the UN Biodiversity Conference being held in Kunming, China later this year are all good signs that it will.