Giant pandas are captivating animals with worldwide interest. Their distinctive colour, furriness and slow, swaggering, lifestyle may be some of the reasons why people love them (Figure 1 A-C). Fewer than 1900 pandas remain in their natural habitats according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. However, in 2016, as a major success of conservation efforts, the IUCN announced a downgrading of the protection status of the giant panda from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’.

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Figure 1  Giant pandas (A–C) and Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (D,E).