Number of captive pandas hits 600

Years of efforts by Chinese researchers to increase the panda population has paid dividends as the number of captive pandas in the world has now reached 600.

The count means the world has been able to develop a self-sustaining and growing captive panda population, according to the three-day 2019 Annual Conference of the Chinese Committee of Giant Panda Breeding Techniques in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which ended on Wednesday.

Sixty pandas have been born worldwide this year, and 57 have survived, said Jia Jiansheng, a senior official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.