Animals & Nature
Giant Panda
The giant panda is a black-and-white bear native to mountain forests in central China and specially adapted to eat bamboo.
The giant panda is a bear native to cool mountain forests in central China. Its distinctive coat has black fur around the eyes, ears, shoulders, and legs, with white fur covering much of the remaining body. Although classified in the order Carnivora, the species depends heavily on bamboo for food.
Giant pandas have powerful jaws and broad molars for crushing bamboo. A modified wrist bone acts like a thumb and helps them grasp stalks while eating. Pandas are generally solitary, and wild populations survive mainly in protected mountain habitats in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.
Quick facts
- The giant panda is a bear with the scientific name Ailuropoda melanoleuca.
- Wild giant pandas live in mountain ranges in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu.
- Bamboo forms the great majority of a giant panda's diet.
- A thumb-like structure formed from an enlarged wrist bone helps the panda hold bamboo.
- Adult males can weigh up to about 250 pounds, while females are generally smaller.
A surprising fact
A newborn giant panda cub may be only about one nine-hundredth the size of its mother.