There are now roughly 1800 wild pandas and so their status has been moved to vulnerable!
Pandas wild status has been upgraded to vulnerable from endangered
A recent study has shown there are really two species of giant panda
Pandas, like many other mountain species, are liable to get marooned on islands in the sky, and recent genetic analysis has shown that there are really two species of giant panda which have not interbred for more than 300,000 years.
One of these populations is in Sichuan province, the other is in Shaanxi province. The latter population have a different look with their heads looking more like cats than bears. The Shanxi province pandas were only confirmed to exist in the 1960s and we’re recognised as a separate subspecies in 2005.
Both populations only exist in China, though this other population only has about 350 members. Perhaps the problem with this is that there are now two species that are more severely endangered. We just hope that China prioritises these two species – the vast national park that China has recently declared is likely to increase the number of the more numerous pandas, but clearly more work needs to be done on the cat-faced panda bear.
China must close 600 coal-fired power plants early to hit their own climate target – but this could save money
China has stated that they will peak their emissions by 2030 and hit carbon neutrality by 2060. These targets are just about acceptable in terms of meeting the human races target of holding temperature raise to 1.5 degrees C.
Continue reading “China must close 600 coal-fired power plants early to hit their own climate target – but this could save money”Wild herd of elephants leave their reserve and roam 500km (300 miles) across China
A herd of elephants left their home in March of 2020, and have been roaming free for the last 15 months. In that time they have travelled 500 km (300 miles) roughly the equivalent of the distance from the most eastern to most western point in the UK.
China has stated that they will aim to hit peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060
These statements have been made before, however the Chinese president has reaffirmed them over video-link to the UN general assembly. Currently responsible for around 28% of world emissions this is highly encouraging.
In the past China has agreed to its peak emissions point, but not to its carbon neutral point.
Continue reading “China has stated that they will aim to hit peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060”The Chinese alligator – critically endangered in the wild yet with tens of thousands captive members
These animals were covered during the BBC wild China series a few years ago, and as such a relatively poorly known but highly important animal which plays an important part of the ecosystem in this part of China has likely been saved – though there is still much work to do.
As with an awful lot of other wildlife found within the borders of China, the Chinese alligator is severely endangered. In the wild it’s population numbers around 150, at this population is highly fragmented and no habitat has a significant number of these animals.
Continue reading “The Chinese alligator – critically endangered in the wild yet with tens of thousands captive members”Perhaps one good thing come out of the epidemic-Chinese people are finally prepared to change behaviour towards wild animals
Unfortunately as the wealth of the Chinese middle class has grown, these several 100,000,000 extra people have wanted the traditional medicines that supposedly there ruling ancestors once enjoyed. The start of the epidemic that we are just starting to recover from, was caused by poaching of wild animals. It is likely that there are many more forms of bacteria and virus living deep in rainforests and other wildernesses around the world. Might the risk of a further outbreak, finally force the Chinese government to halt the insane poaching that its people have caused around the world?
In order to deliver these raw materials for so called chinese medicine (I say so called, as no scientific study has been able to show a link between any of these treatments and a change in human conditions) animals have to be hunted. These animals are protected, and so this demand drive poaching that can locally eliminate these animals from ecosystems.
Continue reading “Perhaps one good thing come out of the epidemic-Chinese people are finally prepared to change behaviour towards wild animals”Chinese government can’t decide whether to bring back trade in rhino horn and tiger parts legally
The Chinese government has put off a difficult decision it has to make on whether to lift the ban on trade in rhino horn and tiger body parts. Trade was banned back in 1993, but in October they announced that they would allow these parts to be used for scientific medicinal and cultural reasons.
