Gansu's wild panda population grows 15 pct

LANZHOU - The number of wild pandas in northwest China's Gansu Province increased 15 percent to 132 between 2001 and the end of 2014, according to official survey results released on Friday.

The area covered by panda habitats also increased 3.3 percent in the period.

However, the survey warned that the addition of two hydropower plants, 122 km of roads and 22 km of high-voltage transmission lines to these areas has disturbed the pandas.

"Human activity and the fragmentation of panda habitats have threatened giant pandas' survival," said Duan Changsheng, deputy director of Gansu's forestry department.

The Jianshan and Western Qinling subspecies are the most at risk of extinction, as there is only one of the former and two of the latter remaining in the area.

As of the end of 2013, there were 1,864 giant pandas living in the wild in China, an increase of 268, or 16.8 percent, from 2003, according to the State Forestry Administration.