Giant panda in 1980: Wolong
[667] [roadmap-giant-panda-4] Another EN-to-watch Asian flagship with a national count machine. 1980: log Giant panda under “Wolong” with 2016. Do not rank the species. A human-made aesthetic neighbour in the same cultural region -- pond versus bamboo.
Did the 2016 downlist mean the crisis ended? VU is better than EN. Fragmented habitat, bamboo die-off cycles and a still-small wild number keep the species in a watch band, not a recovered one like koi or many owls. The 1961 logo drew on Chi-Chi at London Zoo -- a high-contrast animal that printed well. The brand and the wild census later had to share one face.
Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing at the National Zoo made panda diplomacy a Cold War soft-power tool that China still uses as loans, not gifts. The Sichuan earthquake killed staff and animals and wrecked the breeding centre. Rebuilding became a national reconstruction exhibit. An American who took Su Lin out of China in 1936 -- a living-export story that predates modern loan contracts.
Captive numbers rose. Wild recovery needs corridors (the national park idea) more than more cubs on camera. No. Ailurus is a different family. This atlas type is the giant panda only. Giant panda is one of 24 types in this animals atlas. The pages treat it as a full system -- history, anatomy, operating principles, culture, icons, future pressure and market shape -- not a ranking of a best species.
The order on the card is year, line, figure. Giant panda is not sorted by how much visitors like the photo. 1980: log Giant panda under “Wolong” with 2016. Do not rank the species. 20161980
Figures to keep
- Year of the note
- 1980
- Figure to keep
- 2016
- Species
- Giant panda
- Line in the log
- Wolong