There are an estimated 1,600 pandas remaining in the wild according to results of China’s
national panda survey published in 2004. Pandas rely almost entirely on bamboo for their
nutrition and therefore have very specific habitat requirements. Through the years, climate
change and human activities have severely reduced the amount of panda habitat remaining.
Just during the last 30 years panda habitat decreased by almost 25 percent–estimated to
be 29,500 km2 (11,390 square miles) during the first national survey in 1974, but down to
23,000 km2 (8,800 square miles) in 2004 survey.