Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics

Data sources:

[1] Garshelis 2009b
[2] Swaisgood et al. 2020

*100 cm (40 in) tall at the shoulder, according to Swaisgood et al. (2020).

Note: Individuals in the Qinling Mountains generally smaller than those found in other populations (Swaisgood et al. 2020).

Body

• “Stocky, relatively short barrel-shaped” (Schaller et al. 1985)

Coloration and fur

• Coloration
  • Most individuals with contrasting black-and-white fur patches (eg, Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Garshelis 2009b; Swaisgood et al. 2020)
    • Similar coloration in some other mammals: Malayan tapir, honey badger (ratel), orca (killer whale), striped skunk, and black-and-white ruffed lemur
  • Usually black ears, eye patches, forelegs (continues over shoulders and narrowing across back), and hind legs (below the hips) (Schaller et al. 1985; Reid and Gong 1999; Caro et al. 2017)
    • Chest sometimes brownish with white underbelly (Schaller et al. 1985; Reid and Gong 1999)
    • Head markings may be used in communication; see Communication (Schaller 1994; Caro et al. 2017)
  • Color variation (uncommon)
    • Dark fur, sometimes brownish (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
    • Lighter fur sometimes with reddish hues (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
  • Benefits
    • Contrasting dark-and-light fur patches on body for camouflage (Nokelainen et al. 2021)
      • Dark patches blend in with shadows and dark tree trunks (Schaller et al. 1985; Caro et al. 2017; Nokelainen et al. 2021)
      • Light patches blend in with plants and snow (Schaller et al. 1985; Caro et al. 2017; Nokelainen et al. 2021)
        • Only bear regularly active in snow (do not hibernate)
      • Middle fur tones match rocks, ground, and plants (Nokelainen et al. 2021)
    • Body outline broken up when viewed from far distances (beyond 50 to 100 m) (Nokelainen et al. 2021)
      • Proposed to help pandas escape detection by predators (Nokelainen et al. 2021)
• Fur texture
  • Short, dense coat (Davis 1964; Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Adaptation for a cool, damp climate
  • Guard hairs
    • Coarse and slightly oily (Schaller et al. 1985; Garshelis 2009b)
      • Repel water (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • Underfur
    • Thick and woolly (Chorn and Hoffman 1978)
      • Provides warmth (Schaller et al. 1985)
    • Sparser on underbelly (Schaller et al. 1985)
• Fur length
  • Shortest hairs on back and hindquarters (Schaller et al. 1985; Reid and Gong 1999)
    • About 3.5 to 4.5 cm (1.4 to 1.8 in) long
  • Longest hairs on chest and belly (Schaller et al. 1985; Reid and Gong 1999)
    • Up to 10 cm (4 in) long

Head

• Head
  • Large round head with short muzzle (Davis 1964; Christiansen 2007; Garshelis 2009b)
• Ears
  • Stand upright, like other bears (Davis 1964)
  • 7 to 10 cm long (Reid and Gong 1999)
• Skull
  • Pronounced ridge (sagittal crest) down middle of skull (Davis 1964; Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Edwards et al. 2012)
  • Wide cheek bones (zygomatic arches) (Davis 1964; Schaller et al. 1985; Edwards et al. 2012)
• Jaws and teeth
  • Strong jaw bones and chewing muscles for eating tough bamboo (Sheldon 1937; Davis 1964; Chorn and Hoffman 1978; Christiansen 2007; Edwards et al. 2012; F. Wei, Hu, et al. 2015)
  • Large, flat molars for grinding bamboo (Davis 1964; Edwards et al. 2012)
  • Short, blunt, sturdy canines for tearing bamboo (Christiansen 2008)
  • No gap between canines and premolars (used in chewing), unlike most other bears (see Christiansen 2007, Fig. 1)
  • Together with skull, produce a powerful bite force, higher than any other bear (eg, Davis 1964; Christiansen 2007; Swaisgood et al. 2020)

Legs and feet

• Legs
  • Large (Schaller et al. 1985; Garshelis 2009b)
    • Proportionately shorter than most bears (Reid and Gong 1999)
  • Strong forelegs and shoulders (Schaller et al. 1985; Pan and Lü 1993; Reid and Gong 1999)
    • Muscular forebody aids tree climbing (Reid and Gong 1999)
• Feet
  • Front feet
    • Unique, thumb-like digit (modified sesamoid bone) (eg, Jones 1939; Davis 1964; Endo et al. 1999; Edwards et al. 2012; X. Wang et al. 2022)
      • Enlarged bone, covered in a tough pad
      • For grasping and manipulating bamboo
      • Opposable; can be flexed to control position of bamboo stem
      • Similar adaptations for eating bamboo found in red panda; see Taxonomy
  • Rear feet
    • Most of foot comes into contact with ground when walking (nearly plantigrade) (Chorn and Hoffmann 1978)
    • Soles may be hairy (Dave Garshelis, personal communication, 2024)
  • Also see Locomotion

Tail

• Short
  • About 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) (Reid and Gong 1999; Garshelis 2009b)
    • Relatively long compared to other bear species, because it is used to smear scent marks (Dave Garshelis, personal communication, 2024)
• Scent glands on underside (Schaller et al. 1985)
  • See Olfactory communication

Body size

• Females smaller than males (at same adult age) (Schaller et al. 1985; Pan and Lü 1993)
  • Weigh 10 to 15% less, on average (Schaller et al. 1985, p. 5; Swaisgood et al. 2020)
  • Sexual dimorphism less pronounced in giant pandas than all other living bears (Stirling and Derocher 1990)
• Difficult to tell the sexes apart from body measurements (Pan and Lü 1993)

Smell

• See Olfactory communication

Hearing

• Hearing range (Owen et al. 2016a)
• Best sensitivity: 12.5 to 14.0 kHz
• Good sensitivity: 10.0 to 16.0 kHz
• Full range: 0.10 kHz (lower limit) to 70.0 kHz (upper limit)
• Low-frequency hearing
• Can hear ultrasonic sounds (Owen et al. 2016a)
• May allow communication among pandas in dense bamboo forest, or may be an ancestral trait among mammals (Owen et al. 2016a citing Sales and Pye 1974; Swaisgood et al. 2020)
• Also see Vocal communication

Vision

• Not well studied (Swaisgood et al. 2020)
• May be comparable to other bears (Bacon and Berghard 1974; Kelling et al. 2006; Hartley and Oliveira 2022)
• Image clarity
• “Seems reasonably acute” (Swaisgood et al. 2020)
• Color vision
• Have (at least some) color vision, comparable to other bears that feed on colorful fruits (Kelling et al. 2006; Dave Garshelis, personal communication, 2024)
• May be useful in bamboo selection (eg, selecting leaves or to avoid patches of drying bamboo), communication, or courtship (Swaisgood et al. 2020; Hartley and Oliveira 2022)
• Pupil
• Vertical slit (Reid and Gong 1999)
• May be adaptive for nighttime activity

Metabolism

• Fairly low metabolic rates compared to other bears (Fei et al. 2016; Bi et al. 2021)
  • Giant pandas commonly sedentary to conserve energy (can sit in one place, eating bamboo)
• Higher energy needs during cold conditions and at higher altitudes (Bi et al. 2021)
  • Use more energy in winter to keep warm (Bi et al. 2021)
  • Perhaps less adapted to cold, high-altitude conditions than previously thought (Bi et al. 2021)
  • Do not hibernate, unlike other bears that live at similar latitudes and elevations (Garshelis 2009b; J. Zhang et al. 2015; Dave Garshelis, personal communication, 2024)

Bai Yun at the San Diego Zoo.

A giant panda's black-and-white coloration helps it to blend in with forest shadows, tree trunks, plants, rocks, and snow.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.