Panda Numbers on Rise, but 'Species Still Faces Big Challenges'

(Beijing) – The country's population of wild giant pandas grew over a recent 10-year period, the government has found, but one expert says the species that serves as an icon for China still faces series challenges to its long-term survival.

The survey by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) found that the size of China's wild panda population grew by 16.8 percent from 2003 to 2013. The country was found to have 1,864 of the black and white animals living in the wild.