Giant progress

This year we celebrated excellent news about giant pandas. According to China’s fourth National Giant Panda survey, published back in February, there are now at least 1,864 pandas in the wild. That’s 268 higher than the previous estimate in 2003 – a rise of nearly 17%. The survey is conducted by the Chinese government every 10 years. It also showed that the giant panda’s geographic range has increased by 11.8% – to 25,000 sq km. The increases in both population and habitat area are a victory for conservation. They’re encouraging signs that the hard work of the Chinese government, local communities, nature reserve staff and WWF is paying off. WWF provided financial and technical support. And we’ve supported the Chinese authorities in establishing panda nature reserves: there are now 67, an increase of 27 since the previous report. They now account for just over half the panda’s habitat area. The survey found that two-thirds of wild giant pandas live within these nature reserves.

Stripes surveyed

Tiger populations are showing signs of increasing! This vital achievement comes at the halfway point in a 12-year plan to double the number of wild tigers. We’re encouraging tiger range countries to update their tiger population estimates, because getting a clear picture of how many tigers there are – and where – is vital if we’re to improve protection. This year, we supported a survey in Russia that found numbers had increased to as many as 540 (including about 100 cubs) – up from 423-502 a decade earlier. We supported Bhutan’s first national tiger survey, which estimated around 100 tigers. Its previous estimate was 75. Bangladesh’s first national tiger survey also estimated there to be around 100. India reported a 30% increase in its wild tiger numbers since 2010 – to around 2,200. And Nepal’s most recent tiger survey (in 2013) estimated around 200 individuals, up from around 120 in 2009. But it’s not all good news: it’s thought there may be only 250 tigers in Malaysia, down from an estimate of 500 in 2010. There are thought to be no breeding populations of tigers in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. We’re working with tiger countries to protect habitats and prevent poaching of these big cats and their prey. We’re also working with governments and communities to reduce conflict between people and tigers, and to tackle wildlife crime.

Nepal numbers

A survey we supported found there are now 645 greater one-horned rhinos in Nepal. That’s a truly encouraging increase of 21% from the 2011 estimate of 534. This positive news came at a difficult time for the country, after it was hit by a devastating earthquake on 25 April. Nepal also marked another 365 days of zero poaching of rhinos – the third time in the last five years that it’s achieved this impressive success. And this year four rhinos in Nepal were fitted with satellite collars that’ll provide information about how they use a wildlife ‘corridor’ that links Nepal’s Bardia National Park with India’s Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. It’ll help ensure this transboundary habitat is managed and protected appropriately and that we focus anti-poaching efforts on the most populated areas of the corridor.

Amazing Amur tale

We’ve helped to increase wild Amur leopard populations over the last nine years, from around 35 to around 70. Most of the world’s Amur leopards live in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, which we helped to establish in 2012. A survey we supported there identified 51 adults and six cubs. In addition, it’s estimated that there may be around 20 in China. The Russian census covered around 3,800 sq km and captured about 10,000 camera trap images. We’re able to derive more accurate population estimates thanks to analysis of these images. We’ve helped to reduce poaching of Amur leopards and their prey by improving the way the park is managed and protected. Russia has also backed an exciting new plan to reintroduce this critically-endangered cat to its former forest home in Lazovsky Reserve, in south-east Russia.

Curbing wildlife crime

We remain dedicated to tackling the unprecedented surge in illegal wildlife trade. This year, ministers and officials from 31 countries met at a follow-up meeting to the 2014 London conference on illegal wildlife trade where we worked closely with the UK government to deliver the agreed London Declaration. The latest conference (in Kasane, Botswana) agreed new measures including a focus on tackling money laundering and other financial aspects of wildlife crime. This is an important, innovative step that will provide a mechanism to help bring down the trafficking kingpins. In July the UN General Assembly signed the first ever resolution on wildlife crime, committing all 193 member countries to scaling up efforts to end the poaching and illegal trade that are robbing our planet of some of its most iconic wildlife.

Javan joy

Camera trap footage from Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park has revealed three new Javan rhino calves – two males and a female. The discovery provides evidence that Javan rhinos are breeding. That’s vital news for a species that was once estimated to number as few as 37-44 individuals. We and the International Rhino Foundation have donated over 100 camera traps to improve monitoring of these rhinos. The latest data, together with this new footage, brings the number of this critically-endangered species to 60. It demonstrates that conservation efforts by the national park, the Indonesian government, local communities and organisations including WWF are working.

Snow tracks

We’ve helped ensure that this year no snow leopards were either poached or killed in retaliation for attacks on livestock in Nepal’s Kangchenjunga Conservation Area. A pioneering community livestock insurance scheme we helped set up is proving successful: it provides funds to help replace domestic livestock, if killed by a snow leopard. We’ve found that people are less likely to retaliate if they’re compensated promptly. We’ve also supported efforts to strengthen patrolling in the area. The snow leopard population in this region is estimated to be stable. We’ve also helped fit a GPS collar to a second snow leopard in the Kangchenjunga region. Being able to track the five-year-old male snow leopard’s movements and habitat use will help improve strategies to better manage the landscapes where the snow leopards live.

Amazon abundance

The presence of river dolphins can provide an excellent indication of a river’s healthy status. But we still know very little about the range and abundance of river dolphins in the Amazon and its tributaries. So this year we supported a count of Amazon river dolphins in an area threatened by hydropower development. During the expedition, researchers recorded 160 tucuxi and 112 pink river dolphins along a 577km stretch of the Tapajós river where there are plans to build more than 40 dams. The survey findings will help us to advise the Brazilian government on the most appropriate places to site any new developments.

Beyond borders

An infrared camera trap set up by WWF has captured rare footage of a family of Amur tigers in China, about 30km beyond the Russian border. The film features a female with two playful cubs that are about 18 months old. It shows that wild Amur tigers are steadily spreading further into China – and breeding. It’s a sign that our hard work to boost wild Amur tiger populations is paying off.

Turtle increase

We’ve recorded an increase in the number of adult female turtles nesting in Lamu seascape, Kenya’s most northerly stretch of coast, from about 105 in 1999 to about 155 in 2013. Around 98% of these were endangered green turtles. In total, we monitored 34 beaches in five locations. The nest numbers are, at least in part, linked to monitoring effort, but we’ve also seen an increase in turtle hatchling numbers and a decrease in numbers lost to predators. This is thanks to our conservation efforts in conjunction with Kenya Wildlife Service and the local community.

Magical Mekong

A report collated by WWF shows that in 2014, scientists discovered 139 previously unknown species in the region around the Greater Mekong river, which flows through Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. The discoveries include the 10,000th recorded reptile species, as well as a colour-changing thorny frog and the world’s second-longest insect – a 54cm-long stick insect. In total, 90 plants, 23 reptiles, 16 amphibians, nine fish and one mammal (the long-toothed pipistrelle bat) were described. We’re working with partners to protect the Mekong’s unique ecosystems and its fabulous species from threats posed by deforestation, poaching and large infrastructure projects such as dams and roads.