Giant Panda will survive if humans and deforestation are controlled: Study

The giant panda has a long-term viable future, a joint research undertaken by Cardiff University and the Sichuan-based China West Normal University has claimed.

Washington, Aug.25 : The giant panda has a long-term viable future, a joint research undertaken by Cardiff University and the Sichuan-based China West Normal University has claimed.

Ruling out the possibility of its immediate extinction, Professor Michael Bruford, Dr. Beno�t Goossens from the School of Biosciences, Professor Fuwen Wei and colleagues from the Institute of Zoology and the China West Normal University in Sichuan, have found that the decline of the species can be linked directly to human activities rather than a genetic inability to adapt and evolve.

"Our research challenges the hypothesis that giant panda's are at an 'evolutionary dead end. It is however clear that the species has suffered demographically at the hands of human activities such as deforestation and poaching," the study says.

"Our research suggests we have to revise our thinking about the evolutionary prospects for the giant panda. The species has a viable future and possesses the genetic capacity to adapt to new circumstances," claims Dr. Bruford.

Conservation efforts should therefore be directed towards habitat restoration and protection. In their natural environment, the giant panda is a species that can have a bright future," he adds

The research is reported in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

ANI