Panda Facts

Scientific Name:  Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Long an icon of the wildlife conservation movement, panda bears are increasingly living in isolated patches of mountainous forest in central China.

SEE Pandas on This Conservation Adventure:

• Tracking Wild Panda Footprints

Panda Facts

• Their favorite food is bamboo, which they can eat more than 80 lbs of per day. In the wild, they spend more than half of the day eating.
• These bears will eat more than 60 species of bamboo.
• Adults are normally solitary except when mating and parenting.
• They have between 1-2 cubs per litter but the female only raises one at a time.

Distribution

Pandas are limited to a small range in central and south central China, primarily in the province of Sichuan, as well as Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Their total range is less than 14 square kilometers across six small areas. They live between 1,200 and 3,500 feet altitude.

Status

IUCN Status:  Endangered 

Population Trend: Decreasing

Researchers estimate that there are fewer than 2,500 adults remaining in the wild. The primary threat is loss of their habitat for agriculture and other uses.

They currently live in a number of small parks that are isolated from each other. Poaching used to be a serious problem but has been controlled and they are not considered a source for traditional Asian medicine.

Learn more about other threats here.

What Is SEEtheWILD?

We're a non-profit wildlife conservation travel organization that supports local efforts to protect endangered animals. We work with quality tour operators who have passed our criteria to ensure low environmental impact. We're part of The Ocean Foundation.

Contact us for more information about panda facts.