Chinese Giant Panda Information

The giant panda has become the a symbol of species conservation since the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) adopted the endangered animal as its symbol. The giant panda is the rarest of all bear species and one of the most threatened animals in the world. In 2004, WWF estimated the number of mature giant pandas in the wild to be around 1,600. The giant panda population is growing steadily due to the efforts of various organizations and the Chinese government, but the species remains endangered.

  1. Habitat

    • The giant panda became a separate species more than three million years ago. In the past, the giant panda lived all over southern China, eastern China, Myanmar and northern Vietnam. The expansion of human populations and activities reduced their habitat to about 20 isolated areas in southwest China, to the east of the Tibetan plateau. In particular, their habitat lies in the Gansu, Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces.

    Physical Characteristics

    • Pandas are famous for their distinctive white coat with black fur around their eyes, ears, muzzle, legs and shoulders. Adult giant pandas can reach up to almost 5 feet in length and can weigh between 220 and 330 pounds. Male pandas are 10 percent larger and 20 percent heavier than female pandas. Their wrist bones are enlarged and often used much like opposable thumbs. They have strong jaw muscles and large molar teeth that they use on bamboo and occasionally to defend themselves. Wild pandas live about 14 to 20 years, but captive pandas can live up to 30 years.

    Behavior

    • Mother pandas are devoted to their cubs. A mother panda will stay in the den to look after her cub, not leaving to eat or drink for days. She nurses her cub for 18 months and sends the cub off to live on its own at the end of this period.

      The giant panda's daily diet consists of 26 to 83 lbs. of bamboo leaves, stems and shoots. It also eats the occasional small rodent, but meat only constitutes about 1 percent of its diet. This dependence on bamboo renders the giant panda vulnerable to loss of bamboo habitat by agriculture, herb harvesting and logging.

      Pandas are swimmers and natural climbers, starting to climb trees at only 6 months old. Unlike other bears, they don't hibernate for months in winter.

    Significance

    • The giant panda is a part of the ecosystem in the Yangtze Basin eco-region. Millions of people benefit from the area's natural resources and biodiversity. The Yangtze Basin generates returns from tourism, subsistence fisheries and agriculture, transport, hydropower, and water resources. The giant panda's survival will help sustain the region's ecosystem balance and economic activities.

    Conservation Efforts

    • By 2005, the Chinese government had established more than 50 reserves to protect more than 2.5 million acres of giant panda habitat, which constitutes 45 percent of remaining habitat in which 60 percent of the giant panda population lives. The Chinese government has also banned logging in panda habitat.

      The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) imposes strict regulation on giant panda trade and bans trade for commercial purposes.

      The Chinese government invited WWF to help with giant panda conservation in 1980. WWF plays a supplementary role in China, providing information to the public and influencing policy decisions. WWF also carries out research studies on wild giant pandas in the wild; increases protected habitat areas; and guards against poaching, illegal logging and trespassing.