Decades of efforts to create protected habitat for the iconic mammal has pulled it back from the brink of extinction.But, according to a new study, while many other animals in the same landscape have benefited from this conservation work, some have lost out.

Leopards, snow leopards, wolves and Asian wild dogs have almost disappeared from the majority of protected areas.

Driven to near extinction by logging, poaching and disease, their loss could lead to “major shifts, even collapse, in ecosystems”, said researchers in China.

Without the likes of leopards and wolves, deer and livestock can roam unchecked, causing damage to natural habitats, with knock-on effects for other wildlife, including pandas themselves.

By protecting the panda’s forests, conservationists believed they would be protecting not only the charismatic black-and-white animal, but the many other species roaming the same habitat.

But while that has worked for some other wildlife, the efforts do not appear to have worked for large carnivores, such as the leopard and wolf.

A team of researchers now says a broader – holistic – approach is needed to manage the ecosystem in which the panda lives – one that ensures key species don’t lose out.

This was “critically needed to better increase the resilience and sustainability of the ecosystems not only for giant pandas but also for other wild species”, said co-author Dr Sheng Li of Peking University in Beijing.

In order to achieve this, the researchers outline a range of measures including enforcement against poaching and restoring habitats for the animals that large carnivores eat.