Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca · Animal
The giant panda is a bear that lives almost entirely on bamboo in the cool, misty mountain forests of central China. It became a global symbol of conservation.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Ailuropoda melanoleuca
- Kind
- Animal
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN VU)
- Habitat
- Mountain bamboo forest
- Range
- Mountains of central China
- Size
- 1.2–1.9 m long
- Weight
- Up to 125 kg
- Lifespan
- About 20 years in the wild
- Diet
- Herbivore (bamboo)
- Activity
- Solitary · active at dawn and dusk
- Population
- ≈ 1,860 in the wild (2014 national survey)
Diet
Bamboo makes up about 99% of its diet; a panda eats 12–38 kg of it a day and spends most of its waking hours feeding.
Behavior
An enlarged wrist bone works like a “thumb” for gripping bamboo. Pandas are mostly solitary and communicate with scent marks and calls.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Ursidae
- Genus
- Ailuropoda
- Species
- A. melanoleuca
Conservation
Downgraded from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016 after decades of reserve creation and reforestation.
Main threats
- Habitat fragmentation
- Climate change affecting bamboo