[E022]It's in black and white: China's wild panda population up…

It’s in black and white: China’s wild panda population up nearly 17%

China’s population of wild giant pandas jumped nearly 17 percent over a decade — state media reported, citing an official survey — with conservation measures[保护措施] credited as[被称赞为] being behind the increase. The investigation by the State Forestry Administration found that by the end of 2013 China had 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild, marking an increase of 268 individuals, or 16.8 percent, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday. Conservation efforts led to the increase, officials say.

This increase in the population of wild giant pandas is a testament[遗嘱；圣约；确实的证明] to the commitment made by the Chinese government for the last 30-plus years to wild panda conservation.

Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation at the World Wildlife Fund

The report also said that as of June last year there were 42 pandas, including adults and cubs[ 幼仔；幼童军；没经验的年轻人], overseas in 12 countries. China has cultivated a global fascination with pandas into its diplomacy[外交] efforts by sending the animals to overseas zoos where they have proven to be wildly popular. Pandas, whose natural habitat lies in mountainous southwestern China, have a notoriously[众所周知地；声名狼藉地；恶名昭彰地] low reproductive[生殖的；再生的；复制的] rate and are under pressure from factors such as habitat loss[栖息地消失]. Underscoring[ 强调；划线于…下] continuing worries, however, the survey showed that 223 of the wild giant pandas, or 12 percent of the population, were classified as high risk.