Giant panda - Population & Distribution

A restricted giant

Previous Population and Distribution
Fossil evidence suggests that in the early Pleistocene, some 2-3 million years ago, ancestors of the giant panda were widely distributed over much of eastern and southern China as far north as Beijing. Panda fossils have also been found in northern Myanmar (Burma) and northern Vietnam.

A panda survey in the 1980s found around 1,100 giant pandas in the wild.

Current Population and Distribution
Today giant pandas are confined to temperate forests scattered across 6 mountain ranges in southwestern China: Minshan, Qinling, Qionglai, Liangshan, Daxiangling, and Xiaoxiangling. These forests are some of the most biologically rich temperate areas on Earth. For example, they are home to the world's largest salamander, the endangered golden monkey, and have the highest diversity of plant species for any temperate forest on earth.

Results from the most comprehensive survey of China's giant panda population in 2004 reveal that there are nearly 1,600 pandas in the wild, over 40% more animals than previously thought to exist. These findings come from a 4-year-long study of pandas and their habitat carried out by the State Forestry Administration of China and WWF.

Not only did the survey find a larger panda population than previously known, but the pandas were discovered living in regions not thought to have the species. In fact, eleven more counties were found with panda distribution compared to those revealed by the previous survey.

WWF experts believe that the difference is mainly due to better counting than a better environment for the giant panda.