Panda numbers are rising: Here are 5 videos to celebrate

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Wild giant pandas in China are doing well.

The latest census by China's State Forestry Administration shows the panda population has grown by 268 to a total of 1,864 since the last survey ending in 2003.

Nearly three quarters of the pandas live in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The remaining pandas have been found in the neighboring Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

"The rise in the population of wild giant pandas is a victory for conservation and definitely one to celebrate," said Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation for World Wildlife Fund.

Celebrate we shall, with four of our favorite recent panda videos.

There were the world panda awards (Bao Bao of the U.S. National Zoo placed, but couldn't beat the triplets):

Panda triplets win world panda award

The award winners of the 2014 Giant Panda Zoo awards were announced this morning to honor some of the most entertaining pandas in the world.

Junius Randolph

The panda cub that just wouldn't leave Mom alone:

Panda bear mom refuses to share her bread with cub

This panda mom was caught being very selfish...she would not give her cub even a crumb of bread.

VPC

The giant panda that was startled by a little squirrel:

Watch this giant panda get startled by a squirrel

A panda at the Toronto Zoo had an unexpected visitor wake her from an afternoon nap.

VPC

And, of course, Bao Bao's first birthday this past August:

Happy 1st birthday, Bao Bao!

Bao Bao, the National Zoo's giant panda cub, turned 1 on Saturday! To celebrate this major milestone, let's look back at some of her cutest moments caught on camera.

While these are captive pandas, credit for the increase in wild pandas goes to the Chinese government, Hemley said. The survey shows 1,246 wild giant pandas live within nature reserves. There are 67 panda reserves in China, an increase of 27 since the last survey.

"The survey result demonstrates the effectiveness of nature reserves in boosting wild giant panda numbers," said Xiaohai Liu, executive program director for WWF-China.

But the survey also points to economic development as a main threat to the rare animal. It says 319 hydropower stations and 1,339 kilometers (832 miles) of roads have been built in the giant panda's habitat.

WWF said it is the first time that large-scale infrastructure projects such as mining and railroads get referenced in the survey. Traditional threats such as poaching are on the decline, WWF noted.

China began surveying its giant pandas in the 1970s. The latest census began in 2011 and took three years to complete.

The number of giant pandas in captivity grew by 211, more than double the previous survey figure, according to the census released Saturday.

Let's close with Bao Bao bang: