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Panda

Panda.png
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Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Common Name: Giant Panda

Where They Live

Giant pandas are native to China, and they mainly live in:

  • The mountainous forests of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces

  • Dense bamboo forests at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet

These areas are cool, misty, and rich in bamboo — their favorite food.

Fun Facts

  • Pandas spend up to 12 hours a day eating bamboo — up to 84 pounds of it!

  • Although they belong to the carnivore family, their diet is 99% bamboo.

  • Baby pandas are born tiny and pink, weighing about 1/900th of their mom’s size!

  • Pandas have an extra "thumb" (actually a wrist bone) to help them grip bamboo.

  • Despite their size and clumsiness, pandas are excellent tree climbers.

Endangered Status

  • Current Status: Vulnerable (not endangered, but still at risk)

  • Reason for Decline:

    • Habitat loss from deforestation

    • Low birth rates in the wild

  • Thanks to conservation efforts, wild panda populations have grown to over 1,800, and their status was upgraded from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016.

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