The giant panda, also known as the panda bear, or simply the panda, is a bear species endemic to China. Although the panda belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore (an animal that feeds on leaves), with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than ninety-nine percent of its diet.
Giant pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.
Species:
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Common Name:
Giant Panda,
Conservation Status:
Vulnerable (VU)
Subspecies:
Qinling Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca ginlingensis)
Range
The giant panda lives in only a few mountain ranges in central China, primarily in Sichuan, but have also been seen in neighboring Shaanxi and Gansu. As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived, and it is a conservation reliant vulnerable species.
A 2007 assessment shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. As of December 2014, there were 49 giant pandas in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 countries.
Wild population estimates vary, and one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000 individual pandas and some reports even show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.
By March 2015, the wild giant panda population had allegedly increased by to 1,864 individuals. Then, by 2016, the giant panda was reclassified from endangered to vulnerable, which gives affirmation to the decade long efforts to save the panda. Finally, in July 2021, Chinese authorities also reclassified the giant panda as vulnerable.
Habitat
Description
The giant panda is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name
giant panda is sometimes used to distinguish it from the
red panda, a neighboring Ailurid, or the Qinling Panda, a subspecies of the giant panda.
Adults measure around 4 feet to 6 feet 3 inches long, including a tail of about 4 to 6 inches. The giant panda is 24 to 35 inches tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 350 pounds, while females generally are slightly smaller than males and can weigh as little as 150 pounds but can also weigh up to 276 pounds. The average weight for adults is 220 to 254 pounds. The giant panda has a body shape similar to other bears.
The panda has black fur on its ears, eye patches, limbs and shoulders while the rest of the its coat is white. This distinctive coat seams to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments; white areas as camouflage in snow, while the black shoulders and legs provide crypsis (visual concealment) in shade.
Studies in the wild have found that when viewed from a distance, the panda displays disruptive coloration, but while close up, rely more on blending in. The black ears may signal aggressive intent, while the eye patches might facilitate them identifying one another. The thick, woolly coat of the panda keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.
The paw of the giant panda has a thumb and five fingers. Actually, the thumb is a modified sesamoid bone which helps it to hold bamboo while eating.
The tail of the giant panda, which is from 4 to 6 inches long, is only surpassed in the bear family by the sloth bear/
A panda will normally live about 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. The oldest giant panda ever in captivity was one in Ocean Park Hong Kong reached the age of 38 years.
