Giant Panda

Pandas have a white coat with black fur around their eyes, on their ears, muzzle, legs and shoulders. The unique physical features of the species include broad, flat molars and an enlarged wrist bone that functions as an opposable thumb - both of these adaptations are used for holding, crushing and eating bamboo.

Giant panda An An, a 6 year old male, eating bamboo Wolong Nature Reserve, China
© Susan A. MAINKA / WWF-Canon

Giant pandas are about five feet long from nose to rump, with a four to six inch tail. A large adult panda can weigh about 220-330 pounds, with males 10 percent larger and 20 percent heavier than females.

Pandas live mainly on the ground but have the ability to climb trees as well. While the species does not hibernate, they often relocate to lower altitudes in the winter and spring.

More on the Ecology of the Giant Panda

Diet

Giant pandas are classified as bears and have the digestive system of a carnivore, but they have adapted to a vegetarian diet and depend almost exclusively on bamboo as a food source. Only about one percent of their diet is made up of other plants and meat. Occasionally the panda will hunt for pikas and other small rodents.

This behavior defines their lives in many ways, since they often rely on living close to areas where bamboo is abundant. They are vulnerable to any loss of habitat– a key threat to their survival.

Reproduction

Pandas are erroneously believed to be poor breeders, an impression based on the disappointing reproductive performance of captive pandas. Wild panda populations involved in long-term studies are known to have reproductive rates comparable to those of some populations of American black bears, which are thriving.

Giant female named n°8 with her 1 month old baby Wolong Nature Reserve, China
© Susan A. MAINKA / WWF-Canon

Panda breeding facts:

• Giant pandas reach sexual maturity at 5.5 to 6.5 years.
• A female can mate with several males, who compete with each other for her attention.
• A male will seek out different females who are in heat.
• The mating season is in the spring between March and May.
• Males and females usually associate for mating no more than two to four days.
• Gestation takes about 95 to 160 days and pandas normally give birth to single young (twins are born more frequently in captivity, when artificial insemination is used).
• The reproductive rate is about one young every two years.

Social structure

Giant pandas are generally solitary, each adult having a well-defined home range, within which they move about regularly. Females do not tolerate other females and sub-adults within the core areas of their range.

Human encounters with pandas are rare outside the brief mating season, but pandas communicate fairly often, mostly through vocalization and scent marking. As the animals move about, they mark their routes by spraying urine, clawing tree trunks and rubbing against objects.