Photos of Endangered and Vulnerable Species from Around the Globe

Photo contest contestants capture rare images of threatened animals



giant panda


Five-Month-Old Giant Panda Cub at Play at the Wolong Panda Preserve, China

Photo by Barbara Williams (Owings Mills, MD); Photographed February 2008

With only roughly 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild, according to a 2004 survey from the the WWF, the species is quickly disappearing. The panda's primary habitat, China’s Yangtze Basin region, is the geographic and economic heart of a country in an economic boom. Roads and railroads crisscross forests, making it harder for panda populations to expand and mate. Deforestation also reduces pandas’ access to bamboo, their main food source.

Status: Endangered


 

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