潛在的威脅! 大熊貓的棲息地已急劇減少!

Despite signs that numbers of giant pandas are rising, suitable habitat has shrunk, according to satellite data.

儘管有跡象表明大熊貓的數量正在增加，但根據衛星數據顯示，合適的棲息地卻在減少。

The forests where the panda lives are in worse shape than in 1988, when it was first listed as endangered, scientists say.

科學家們聲稱，熊貓居住的森林，要比它1988年第一次被列爲瀕危物種時的情況更差。

Last year, the giant panda was downgraded from endangered to vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

去年，大熊貓從世界自然保護紅色名錄上瀕危物種降級爲脆弱羣體。

"What's new in this study is our ability to assess the status of the giant panda by using satellite imagery and then use that information to come up with recommendations of how better to manage this iconic threatened species," said Prof Stuart Pimm, of Duke University, North Carolina, US, who is a researcher on the study.

來自美國北卡萊羅納州杜克大學的斯圖爾特·皮姆教授，是該研究的研究人員，他說：“這項研究的新進展是我們通過使用衛星成像來評估大熊貓狀況的能力，然後使用這些信息來提出如何更好地管理這個標誌性受威脅物種的建議。”

The news last year that the giant panda had been taken off the endangered list made headlines around the world. The decision was made because numbers of wild pandas had risen in surveys.

去年大熊貓被從瀕危物種名錄上撤銷的新聞成爲了世界各地的頭條。這一決定是因爲在調查中，野生大熊貓數量增加而做出的。

However, with only around 1,800 left in the wild, establishing new reserves and extending existing ones is crucial for the animal's survival.

然而，只有約1800只大熊貓被留在野外，爲了大熊貓的生存，建設新的保護區並且拓展現有的就至關重要了。

"I think we now understand we've got to keep an eye on the habitats where pandas live," said Prof Pimm.

皮姆教授說：“我想我們現在已經意識到了要密切關注大熊貓生活的棲息地。”