Panda Text Headings

Giant pandas are bears that are native to China, where they are considered
a national treasure. Despite their exalted status, giant panda populations are vulnerable: fewer than 1,900 live in the wild. About 300 live in zoos around the world. When the latest assessment was made in 2014, the population of the giant panda appeared to be increasing. There are 67 panda reserves in China that protect around two thirds of giant pandas in the wild and more than 50% of the giant panda’s habitat, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

For many years, scientists wondered whether pandas were a type of bear, raccoon or something all their own. But plenty of genetic studies have made it clear that pandas are a type of bear. Also called great pandas, parti-coloured or bamboo bears, giant pandas are distinguished from other pandas by their large size and black-and-white colouring. Their bold colouring provides camouflage, as a result, giant pandas are nearly invisible in dense patches of bamboo, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.

A giant panda’s appetite for bamboo is insatiable. Bamboo is relatively low in nutrients, that is why pandas have to eat much of it. In order to get a variety of nutrients, pandas eat various parts of the bamboo plant and will seek out bamboo that is sprouting new shoots and leaves as they contain higher amounts of nutrients at different times of the year. Sometimes there is not enough bamboo around to sustain large bears, so giant pandas will occasionally supplement their diet with rodents, fish, insects or birds.

In the wild, giant pandas are only found in the remote, mountainous regions of central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, according to the National Zoo. In these areas, between 5,000 and 10,000 feet elevation, there are cool, wet bamboo forests that serve as home for giant pandas. The large bears make their dens from hollowed-out logs or stumps of conifer trees found within the forest. In the summer, giant pandas will climb 13,000 feet up the mountains of their home area to feed.

For the most part, giant pandas are loners. They dislike being around other pandas so much that they have a heightened sense of smell that lets them know when another panda is nearby so it can be avoided, according to the National Geographic. If they do come in contact with one another, they will growl, swat and bite each other until one gives up and leaves. On average, the giant panda’s territory is about 1.9 square miles (5 square kilometres), which is large enough to avoid unwilling contacts.

Pandas are the most vocal of all bear species, according to the San Diego Zoo. A bleat, similar to the sound of a lamb or a goat kid would make, is one of the most distinctive vocalizations of the giant panda, and is typically used as
a greeting. Other vocalizations include honks, huffs, barks and growls, while cubs often croak and squeal. Giant pandas are known to be noisy, curious and playful. Even in captivity, they are often found playing noisily with enrichment items, such as toys and puzzles.

The giant panda is considered vulnerable to extinction under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. One of the main threats to the giant panda’s survival is the population of feral dogs that roam the forests where pandas live. Packs of dogs will hunt pandas. Even if dogs do not succeed in killing a panda, they can transfer diseases to the bears. These large bears are not particularly agile or swift creatures, so their primary escape route is up. If they can’t make it up a tree, they will get injured or killed.