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Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Female Male
Weight 70–100 kg (150–200 lb) [1] 85–125 kg (190–276 lb); may weigh 150 kg (330 lb) or more in managed care [1]
Head–body Length 120–180 cm (47–71 in) [1]* same as females
Tail Length About 10–15 cm (4–6 in) [1, 2] same as females

 

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).

General Appearance

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

Sexual Dimorphism

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)

Senses

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

Other Physiological Characteristics

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)

Coloration for Camouflage

Giant Panda "Bai Yun" at San Diego Zoo

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.

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