Pandas are herbivores, and their diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo. They eat up to 30 pounds of bamboo per day, and they spend up to 12 hours a day eating. Pandas are not very efficient at digesting bamboo, and they only absorb about 17% of the nutrients from the bamboo they eat.
Pandas have a number of adaptations that help them survive in their environment. They have thick fur that helps to keep them warm in the cold mountain climates where they live. Pandas also have sharp claws that help them to climb trees and bamboo stalks.
Pandas are an endangered species. There are only about 1,864 pandas living in the wild, and their numbers are declining due to habitat loss and poaching. Pandas are also very slow to reproduce. Females only give birth to one or two cubs every two or three years.
Pandas are a symbol of China, and they are considered to be a national treasure. The Chinese government has made great efforts to protect pandas, and their numbers have begun to increase in recent years.