Giant Pandas

Written by: Keya Gambhir

Giant pandas are amazing animals that live high up in the bamboo forests of China. These black-and-white bears are one of the rarest mammals in the world. Only about 1,500 giant pandas live in the wild today, and they spend most of their time eating bamboo.

What Do Pandas Eat?

Giant pandas are mostly plant eaters. Bamboo is the most important food for them. They eat bamboo stalks, leaves, and shoots, sometimes for up to 12 hours a day! Pandas use their strong teeth to peel off the tough outer layers of bamboo and chew the soft inside. Their powerful jawbones and cheek muscles help them crush even thick bamboo stalks. Besides bamboo, pandas sometimes eat bulbs, grasses, insects, and fruit.

How Big Are Pandas?

Adult giant pandas are about 4 to 5 feet long and can weigh around 220 to 300 pounds—about as heavy as a large refrigerator! But baby pandas start out super tiny, only about the size of a stick of butter at birth. Newborn cubs are hairless and helpless, weighing just about three ounces. They don’t open their eyes until they’re about 50 to 60 days old, and they begin crawling at around 10 weeks. Did you know pandas have a special bone that acts like a thumb? It’s called a “pseudo-thumb” and helps them hold bamboo stalks tightly while eating.

Panda Life

Giant pandas are usually shy and like to live alone. They spend most of their time on the ground but are great climbers and swimmers too. They have thick, heavy bones but are flexible and can even do somersaults!

Mother pandas take very good care of their babies. After giving birth, the mom stays in the den for several days without leaving, not even to eat or drink, to protect her tiny cub.

Why Are Pandas Special?

Giant pandas belong to the bear family. Scientists once weren’t sure if they were bears or raccoons, but now we know pandas are bears. Because they only live in a small part of China and eat mostly bamboo, their homes are limited, making them a threatened species.

Learning about giant pandas helps us understand why it’s important to protect them and their bamboo forests so they can survive for many years to come!