National Geographic Traveller UK 03.2020

A supersize national park is set to open later this

year in central China in an e ort to boost the

country’s giant panda population

ONE GIANT STEP

Pandas

A er declining in the 1970s, panda

numbers are gradually on the rise

again. Once widespread throughout

southeastern China, diminishing

habitat, natural disasters such as the 2011

Sichuan earthquake, and the species’

reluctance to breed saw the black-and-

white bear become a conservation icon.

Thanks to a growing network of

reserves and community conservation

initiatives, pandas are no longer

endangered, but arguably the biggest

hope for their long-term survival is

the Giant Panda National Park, set to

open in the coming months. Spanning

around 10,500sq miles and linking

several existing panda habitats, the park

will form a wildlife corridor in central

Sichuan Province. Bordering the Tibetan

Plateau, Sichuan has long enticed

travellers — thanks in no small part to

the fact it’s home to more than 80% of

the world’s wild pandas.

The park is a bold step aims to

preserve the country’s unique natural

wonders and encourage more wildlife

tourism. Supporting rather than

displacing local communities has

been a challenge for the US during the

formation of its national parks system,

and it remains to be seen if China will

be able to strike a sustainable balance.

But for the pandas at least, it heralds

a promising boost for conservation

in a region more used to rapid

modernisation. SARAH BARRELL

1,

giant pandas in the wild, according to a

2014 Chinese government survey

1,

giant pandas living in the wild

in the 1980s

67

number of panda reserves in China

17%

rise in the number of wild

giant pandas, 2003-

14

hours each day a panda needs

to spend eating fresh bamboo

wwf.panda.org

IN NUMBERS

PANDA

CONSERVATION

DID YOU KNOW?

Panda bears are

actually omnivorous.

Although they’ll

occasionally eat small

animals and fish,

bamboo makes up

99% of their diet

IMAGES: GETTY

March 2020 19

SMART TRAVELLER