What Is A Giant Panda?

Giant Panda is a bear found in western China. It has patches over its eyes, ears, and legs and the black band across its shoulders which other bears don't have. Giant pandas like to live in bamboo forests at high altitudes and feed mainly on bamboo. Another thing separating them from bears is that they vocalize by bleating instead of roaring.


Females weigh as much as 80 kg while males weigh about 100 kg. The giant panda's sixth front toe is an enlarged wrist bone and serves as a thumb in grasping food. Bamboo is Giant Panda's staple food and shrinking bamboo cultivation is leading to starvation among panda populations. Pandas are generally not considered a threat to humans except in close encounters. Giant pandas don't have a permanent den. Nor do they hibernate. But they do shelter in winter in dens or hollow trees. Giant panda lives alone most of the year but females live in not too tied up groups under a dominant male.

Pandas usually breed from March to May and a baby panda, weighing 85 to 140 kg, is born three to six months later. If two cubs are born simultaneously, only one survives. Pandas are not known to  breed in captivity. The total number of giant pandas in wild is estimated to be 1000.

The Giant Panda is an endangered animal and is found in the forests of western and southern China and it is easily recognised by its distinct black patches on the eyes and ears and across its body. They survive on bamboo shoots. They also eat honey, eggs, fish and yams. It is a part of the family of bears and is regarded as a carnivore even though 99% of its diet includes bamboo.

They are very rare these days and there is an estimate of only three thousand of them that live in the wild these days. And about 180 of them live in captivity. It is a crowd favourite in public zoos because of its cute and teddy bear like features. It has a very innocent image as it is opposed to hunting and things of that sort.