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A black-and-white giant panda standing among green plants.
Photo: J. Patrick Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Giant Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

A black-and-white bear of the mountain bamboo forests of southwestern China that eats almost nothing but bamboo.

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About the Giant Panda

Giant pandas live in six mountain areas of southwestern China, in cool, wet bamboo forests 5,000 to 10,000 feet high. Even though they are bears, they eat almost only bamboo. Their powerful jaws crunch through woody stems, and an extra wrist bone works like a thumb to grip the stalks. Bamboo isn't very nutritious and pandas can't digest it well, so they eat huge amounts and sleep a lot.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Ailuropoda melanoleuca[1]
Weight
Adult females average about 230 pounds. Males can reach 350 pounds.[1]
Diet
Herbivore. Almost entirely bamboo.[1]
Habitat
Cool, wet bamboo forests 5,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level.[1]
Where it lives
Six mountain areas of southwestern China, in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.[1]
Group life
Adults live alone.[1]
Babies
Twins are common, but a mother usually raises only one cub. Cubs are born blind, deaf and nearly hairless.[1]
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]

Fun facts

  • A special wrist bone works like a thumb so pandas can grip bamboo.[1]
  • Research at Zoo Atlanta helped show that giant pandas can see color.[1]
  • Male pandas do a "headstand" to leave their scent high on bamboo stalks.[1]
  • Panda cubs don't start eating bamboo until they are about a year old.[1]

Vocabulary

bamboo
A tall, fast-growing grass with hard, woody stems.
herbivore
An animal that eats only plants.
digest
To break down food in the body so it can be used.
scent-mark
To leave a smell that sends a message to other animals.
vulnerable
A conservation label meaning a species faces a high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Giant Panda.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/giant-panda/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Giant Panda).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/712/121745669 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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