Good news for the environment! As of Sunday, September 4th, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has announced the giant panda ‘deficit’ is slowly shrinking. Giant pandas are “no longer classified as endangered” but instead “vulnerable.” This is because the number of giant pandas living in the wild has increased from 2004 to 2014, from 1,596 to 1,864.

Many attribute this growth in panda population to the hard work of Chinese agencies and better forest protection against poachers. However, giant panda population is still greatly at risk. Global warming will lead to the annihilation of 35 percent of natural bamboo habitat, which might have an effect on these giant pandas.

Still others doubt that the recent report guarantees giant pandas are safe. These pandas live in small groups and still struggle to survive and reproduce; China’s state forestry administration has stated that any slight degree of lax care in striving to protect these giant, huge and furry animals will result in “irreversible loss.”

The giant panda has always been a trademark of Chinese culture, and this is why they must continue to work to preserve their numbers in the wild. To end on a positive note, the world’s first surviving giant panda triplet has been born in a zoo as of 2014 and they are still out there, they are still living and yet to be admired as hopelessly adorable creatures by hundreds more zoo visitors to come.