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Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet: Summary

Update in Progress

Dear Readers,

The Diet & Feeding information in this fact sheet will soon be updated. Please check back. SDZWA team members can email questions to library@sdzwa.org.

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Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet

Giant Pandas in the snow


Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

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

 

Taxonomy Physical Characteristics

Kingdon: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Ursidae

Genus: Ailuropoda

Species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Body Length: 120–180 cm (47–71 in)

Tail Length: 10–15 cm (4–6 in)

Weight: males: 85–125 kg, or 150–200 lb) (but up to 150 kg, or 330 lb, in managed care); females: 70–100 kg (150–200 lb)

Coloration and fur: Coarse guard hairs repel water; thick and woolly undercoat provides warmth. Commonly, black-and-white pattern (but more brownish fur patches in at least one subpopulation). Contrasting colors provides camouflage for blending in with shadows and snow.

Distribution & Status Behavior & Ecology

Range: 6 remote mountain ranges in China (Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu Provinces)

Habitat: forests with adequate bamboo understory; prefer old-growth forests; shelter in tree hollows, rock crevices, and caves

IUCN Status
Vulnerable (2016 assessment)

CITES Appendix
Appendix I

Population Estimates: approximately 1,040 adults; approximately 1,800-2,060 individuals total

Locomotion: Can walk over rough terrain and through bamboo easily. Gait described as “rolling,” “ambling,” or “waddling." Rarely run but will dash off if startled. Infrequently climb trees as adults, but young pandas (between 4 and 14 months old) commonly stay in a tree while mother forages.

Activity Cycle: Active day and night. Most activity involves resting/sleeping, foraging, and eating.

Social Behavior: Generally solitary, except during breeding or raising cubs (females). Socialize "at a distance" through odors/smell.

Communication: Scent mark trees, rocks, logs, stumps, etc. using gland secretions and urine. Strip bark; leave claw marks on trees; signal each other with body postures. Range of breeding and nonbreeding vocalizations, such as bleats, chirps, snorts, huffs. Tactile communication most common during breeding (adults) or between a mother and cub.

Diet (*not yet peer reviewed): 99% bamboo leaves, stems, and shoots; rarely eat other kinds of plants but may have diet flexibility. Opportunistically eat carrion and meat (eg, small rodents), crops, domestic animal feeds.

Reproduction & Development Species Highlights

Sexual Maturity: similar for both sexes; about 4 to 6 years in managed care, but as late as 7 to 8 years in wild populations

Gestation: on average, about 140 to 150 days (but can be highly variable due to delayed embryo implantation)

Litter Size: usually 1 cub raised by mothers of wild populations

Birth Weight: About 112 g (range: about 75 to 150 g) (giant panda newborns particularly small, even compared to other bear species, but rapidly gain weight)

Feature Facts:

  • Unique, thumb-like digit for manipulating and eating bamboo
  • Skull features and jaw muscles exceptionally adapted for chewing bamboo
  • Do not hibernate, unlike other bears
  • Use distinct winter and summer habitat areas, moving seasonally to find food and preferred temperatures
  • Apart from breeding periods, communicate with one another frequently but without close contact (usually through odors/smell)
  • Males sometimes adopt a “headstand” position to place scent marks high up to show competitive ability
  • At birth, cubs most underdeveloped of all bear species
  • Mother pandas den in tree hollows and rock caves for several months after cub is born
  • Giant pandas recognized and adored around the world today, but not prominent in ancient Chinese cultural works
  • Well protected from hunting/poaching by government of China
  • Conservation of giant pandas protects many other species of plants and animals living in China's forests
  • 1987-1988: 2 pandas loaned to San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance for 200 days; visited by more than 2 million guests
  • 1999: Bai Yun gave birth to Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo
  • 2021: China establishes Giant Panda National Park (unites 60+ existing panda reserves)
  • 2024: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance welcomed Yun Chuan and Xin Bao
  • San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has a decades-long conservation partnership with leading conservation institutions in China, working together to protect giant pandas and the bamboo forests they depend on

About This Fact Sheet

© San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance 2001–2025. Created in 2001. Fully revised and peer reviewed in 2024 and 2025.

How to cite: Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fact Sheet. c2001-2025. San Diego (CA): San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance; [accessed YYYY Mmm dd]. https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/ giantpanda. (note: replace YYYY Mmm dd with date accessed, e.g., 2025 Apr 15)

Disclaimer: Although San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance makes every attempt to provide accurate information, some of the facts provided may become outdated or replaced by new research findings. Questions and comments may be addressed to library@sdzwa.org.

Acknowledgments

An updated version of this fact sheet is being reviewed by scientists and wildlife care specialists with expertise in giant panda biology. Check to see which information has already been updated, below.

Many thanks to the reviewers who generously shared their time and knowledge to improve this resource.

  • Summary: updated, except for diet info
  • Taxonomy & History: William J. McShea, PhD, Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute [profile]
  • Distribution & Habitat: Vanessa Hull, PhD, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida [profile]
  • Physical Characteristics: Dave Garshelis, PhD, IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group co-chair & Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (retired) [profile]
  • Behavior & Ecology: Ron Swaisgood, PhD, Director of Recovery Ecology, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance [profile]
  • Diet & Feeding: review pending; content not yet updated
  • Reproduction & Development: Meghan Martin, PhD; PDXWildlife
  • SDZWA: Kathy Hawk, Wildlife Care, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
  • Population & Conservation Status: Fang Wang, PhD, Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University

Thank you to SDZWA volunteer Leila Dooley for research assistance with cultural and SDZWA history information.

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