Learn about the life of the...

GIANT PANDA

...and discover how you can help keep them from extinction.

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Giant Panda

Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Other Names: White bear, Bamboo Bear, Large Bear Cat, Boars (male pandas)
Habitat: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of Southwest China
Status: Vulnerable
Population: 1864 in the wild

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Diet

Giant pandas spend 10-16 hours a day feeding, mainly on bamboo.
Pandas are 99% vegetarian, although
their digestive system is typical of a carnivore. Because of this large diet, pandas poo alot!

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Height and Weight

Height: adults can grow more than 1.2m.
Weight: Females can grow to 100kg, while Males can grow to 150kg. A newborn panda is about 1/900th the size of its mother, weighing around 85-140 grams.

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Habitat

Their black and white fur helps them camouflage in their environment.
White: blend into snowy backgrounds.
Black: blend into shade and forest.
They are excellent climbers despite their bulk.

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Giant Panda

Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Other Names: White bear, Bamboo Bear, Large Bear Cat, Boars (male pandas)
Habitat: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of Southwest China
Status: Vulnerable
Population: 1864 in the wild

Diet

Giant pandas spend 10-16 hours a day feeding, mainly on bamboo.
Pandas are 99% vegetarian, although
their digestive system is typical of a carnivore. Because of this large diet, pandas poo alot!

Height and Weight

Height: adults can grow more than 1.2m.
Weight: Females can grow to 100kg, while Males can grow to 150kg. A newborn panda is about 1/900th the size of its mother, weighing around 85-140 grams.

Habitat

Their black and white fur helps them camouflage in their environment.
White: blend into snowy backgrounds.
Black: blend into shade and forest.
They are excellent climbers despite their bulk.

IUCN’s
Global Red List

Giant Panda

Status: Vulnerable

Established in 1964, The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

Giant pandas first became endangered in 1990 due to excessive poaching in the 80s and deforestation, depleting their bamboo food source. Now, Giant Pandas main threat is loss of bamboo. Giant Pandas officially moved from the IUCN’s Red List of “endangered species” to “vulnerable species” in 2016, but despite their exalted status and relative lack of natural predators, pandas are still at risk.

Scroll to view other animals with the Vulnerable status...

Black Spider Monkey

Dugong

Giant Tortoise

Great White Shark

Greater One-Horned Rhino

Fun Facts!

Giant Panda

FACT #1

Giant pandas can live 15-20 years

Giant Panda

FACT #2

Pandas are solitary animals and do not hibernate like other bears.

Giant Panda

FACT #3

Although poaching impacted pandas in the past, its impact declined since the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act (1988), which bans poaching.

Giant Panda

FACT #4

For the 1% of their diet that isn't bamboo, pandas eat eggs, small animals, carrion, and forage in farmland for pumpkin, kidney beans, wheat and domestic pig food.

Giant Panda

FACT #5

Infrastructure development (dams, roads, railways) continue to isolate panda populations, preventing pandas from finding new bamboo forests and potential mates.

Giant Panda

FACT #6

Like domestic cats, giant pandas have vertical slits for pupils. This is most likely why they are also called ‘Large Bear Cat’ in China

Take the Quiz!

Test your knowledge and see if you can answer these 10 questions about Giant Pandas!

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Get Involved

What you can do?

Take Action

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Thank you WWF for all you support!

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

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