Pandas are no longer an endangered species but climate change threatens their survival - TomoNews

BEIJING — Giant pandas are not an endangered species anymore, thanks to China’s attempts to preserve their habitat and replant forests. According to conservationists, the Chinese government’s efforts have been so successful that pandas are now breeding like, er ... rabbits? Around 2,000 pandas now live in the wild, an increase of 17 percent in the last decade, the Daily Telegraph reported. That means the species has been reclassified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which probably makes it OK to hunt them. But not so fast. The IUCN said climate change will likely destroy 35 percent of the panda’s habitat, so the population gains could be wiped out. The World Wildlife Fund said the the increase in numbers was “hugely encouraging” and “cause for celebration.” But it’s not all good news for the world’s most endangered species. The IUCN said both eastern and western gorillas, along with orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra are no longer just “endangered”, they’re now “critically endangered”. This means there are currently so few of them in the wild that they’ll probably go completely extinct. That is, unless humans intervene with captive breeding programmes to help boost their numbers. ----------------------------------------­--------------------- Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off. Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.com Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter See a story that should be animated? Tell us about it! Suggest a story here: http://bit.ly/suggest-tomonews Stay connected with us here: Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/ Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Please watch: "Crying dog breaks the internet’s heart — but this sad dog story has a happy ending" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4prKTN9bYQc -~-~~-~~~-~~-~-