Giant Pandas' Diet
Quick Facts
- Name: The Chinese call it the ‘big bear-cat’ (大熊猫 da xiongmao /dah-sshyong-maow/).
- Size: 75 centimeters (2.5 foot) tall and 1.5 meters (5 foot) long
- Weight: Up to 150 kg (330 lb)
- Habitat: Central- Western and Southwest China.Mainly Sichuan. A few in Shaanxi and Gansu. See the map »
- Diet: 99% bamboo. 13 kg (30 lb) or more a day.
- Life Span: Up to 30 years in captivity, but usually only 15 to 20 years in the wild
- Protection Status: Endangered. Estimates of giant panda numbers in the wild vary between 1,500 and 3,000.
- Giant Panda Facts »
A panda at Chongqing Zoo is eating her favorite dish
A giant panda's diet is 99% bamboo, 13 kg (30 lb) or more a day - that is an estimated 3,500 bamboo stalks a day!
The giant panda has the digestive system of a carnivore, but has chosen to live almost exclusively like a vegetarian. Bamboo doesn’t provide much energy, so giant pandas have to keep eating for up to 12 hours a day.
Giant pandas also sometimes eat small amounts of fish, honey, eggs, leaves, fruit and root vegetables. They eat small mammals and birds if they can catch them!
Panda Tours
- Chengdu Highlights and Panda Tour from $380
- Panda Keeper and Chengdu Highlights Tour
from $615 USD - Giant Pandas, Yangtze River and Golden Triangle Combo from $2146 USD
- Panda Discovery and Chengdu Highlights Tour
from $407 USD - » More tours to see pandas
What Our Customers Say
Interacting with the pandas and helping the panda keepers care for the pandas was the highlight of this trip. Watching the baby pandas attempt to crawl and feeling the warmth of a young panda's paw is really "WOW"! by Betty (October 25, 2010)
Without a doubt, the holding of a 1 year old panda bear at the breeding and research center was tops and will be one of the most exciting moments in my travels, which began in 1957. by Barry (October 8, 2009)
Panda Photos
