Giant Pandas — All the Things You Want to Know
- Weight:Up to 150 kg (330 lb)
- Diet: 99% bamboo
- Life Span: 15–20 years in the wild
- The Number: 1,500–3,000 in the wild.
- Size:75 cm (2½ ft) tall, 1½ m (5 ft) long
Increasingly used as the emblem of China, the cuddly and lovable giant panda lives nowhere else in the world outside captivity. The giant panda is the WWF logo and is known as 'national treasure' in China.
A Vulnerable Species — less than 2,000 in the wild
According to the census of 2014, there are only 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild. It is one of the rarest and most endangered species in the world, thus the giant panda was selected and used as the symbol of the WWF since its formation in 1961.
The Size of a Giant Panda
A little smaller than an American black bear, a wild giant panda typically stands 75 centimeters (2½ feet) tall and 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. A wild panda typically weighs about 60–73 kg (132–160 lb), with the largest recorded 110 kg (240 lb). Males are about 1/6 larger than females. Pandas in captivity are bigger, and can weigh up to 150 kg (330 lb).
A new-born baby panda weighs only about 100g (0.2 lb), about 1/900 of its mother's weight. See how big, tall, and heavy pandas are with our large and clear infographics.
Giant Pandas' Lifestyle — low stress and solitude
Giant pandas love climbing trees, particularly the playful cubs.
Giant pandas spend most of their time eating, resting, or seeking food. They are alone most of the time. Males and females only meet during the breeding season in spring.
Giant pandas prefer shallow slopes and solitary living. They use scent markers to avoid one another. Read more on giant panda's interesting behavior.
Where Do Giant Pandas Live?
Giant pandas live in large bamboo forests on humid and relatively high mountain slopes — about 1,200 to 3,100 meters (4,000 to 10,000 feet) above sea level.
Giant pandas were once widespread across central, southern, and eastern China, and China's neighboring countries of Myanmar and northern Vietnam. However, their habitat has shrunk to a few patches in western central China, due to China's farming and logging practices.
Currently, giant Pandas mainly live in the Qin Mountains in Shaanxi Province, and the Min Mountains in Sichuan and Gansu provinces. Read more details on How giant pandas' habitat shrunk to isolated patches.
Their Food — 99% bamboo
99% of giant pandas' food is the tender stems, shoots, and leaves of bamboo. Because bamboo is low in nutrition, one giant panda needs to eat about 12 to 38 kg (26–84 lb) of bamboo a day, up to 40% of its own weight. Giant pandas spend as long as 14 hours eating a day.
1% of their food consists of other plants, even meats. Wild giant pandas eat grasses, wild fruits, insects, even small animals if they can catch them.
Giant Panda Summary Facts
- Chinese: 'big-bear-cat' (大熊猫 dàxióngmāo /dah-sshyong-maow/)
- Class: mammal (mammalia)
- Order: carnivore (carnivora)
- Family: bear (ursidae)
- Genus: cat-foot (Ailuropoda)
- Species: black-and-white (melanoleuca)
- Size: up to 0.75m tall, 1.5m long (2.5 ft tall, 5 ft long)
- Weight: up to 150 kg (330 lb)
- Life span: 15 to 20 years in the wild (up to 30 years in captivity)
- Reproduction: one cub per two years; mating in spring, born late summer.
Also see 13 Interesting Facts on Giant Pandas.
Getting Close to Giant Pandas
Having a photo taken with a panda is an experience treasured by many.
Many travelers make their trips to China for the giant pandas. There are many places in China where you can see giant pandas but the best places are around Chengdu in Sichuan Province, "the giant pandas' home town".
Taking Photos with A Panda or Volunteer Programs
If you want to have more close contact with a giant panda, such as taking photos with a giant panda or joining in a giant panda volunteer program to take care of the pandas, you need to travel to Chengdu.
Tracking Pandas in the Wild
The place travelers are most likely to see a giant panda in the wild is Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province.
Chengdu's Pandas were the inspiration for Kung Fu Panda Po.
Po in the Kung Fu Panda movies was inspired by Chengdu's giant pandas. The production team visited Chengdu's Panda Breeding Base and explored Chengdu City.
"We found the secrets of Po's mysterious origins during the trip to Chengdu," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation.
In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po reunites with his biological father Li and his fellow pandas in Panda Village, which was inspired by Mount Qingcheng in Chengdu.
Take a Panda Tour with Us
We have specially-designed panda tour packages, offering you a chance to get close to giant pandas. These can be tailored to include Mt. Qingcheng and other Kung Fu Panda sights.
Our Most Popular China Panda Tours
- 1-Day Kung Fu Panda Tour to Original Sceneries of Po's Hometown
- 4-Day Dujiangyan Base Panda Keeper Program Tour
- 12-Day Giant Panda, Yangtze Cruise, and Golden Triangle Family Tour
Our travel advisors can also help you tailor-make a tour according to your requirements.
