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The giant panda, with its black and white fur and black eye patches, is a very distinctive animal. Most people in the world are able to recognise a panda. However, despite its popularity, the panda is an endangered animal, and rare in the wild.

This article has been written to help you find out more about these gentle giants. At the end of the article you'll also find out 10 amazing panda facts for kids.

Be sure to watch the video of giant pandas in the wild!

(Read about more endangered animals here.)

Giant Panda, Panda Bear, Or Just Panda?

All three names are used to refer to the same species of animal; the giant panda can also be called a 'panda bear', or just 'panda'.

It's up to you which name to use!

The 'giant' part can be added to differentiate between giant pandas and red pandas. (Red pandas are cat-sized animals, and are not members of the bear family).

Are Pandas Bears?

Pandas are bears. They are members of the Ursidae family, which also includes polar bears and grizzly bears. Pandas are the least common type of bear.

Like all other bears, pandas are mammals. This means that they have fur and they give birth to live babies. Being a mammal also means that pandas take care of their young and feed them until they're strong enough to take care of themselves.

Mother pandas look after their young until they are around 1 and a half to 2 years old.

Qinling Pandas

A subspecies of giant panda, called Qinling pandas, have contrasting dark and light brown coats, rather than the black and white coats of their giant panda relatives.

Where Do Pandas Live?

Pandas live in bamboo forests on the hills and mountains of central China. They used to live in lowland areas of China too, but the spread of humans caused pandas to move to higher ground.

Typical panda habitat is high up in the mountains, where the climate is cold, wet and misty.

What Do Pandas Eat?

Pandas differ from other bears in that they are largely herbivorous. Their diet consists almost entirely of bamboo stalks.

Bamboo is not rich in nutrients, and pandas have to eat large quantities of bamboo every day. They can spend 12 hours a day just eating!

Pandas have specially adapted wrist bones for holding bamboo stalks, and strong jaw muscles for grinding up the fibrous plant. (The panda's round face is due to the size of their jaw muscles.) Pandas also have large molars to help them chew bamboo, and their throats have a special lining to prevent bamboo splinters getting stuck. Pandas don't need to drink water because the bamboo shoots provide them with all that they need.

How Big Are Pandas?

Full grown pandas are 2-3 feet tall (1.2metres) when on all fours, and around 4-6 feet long. Male pandas weigh about 250 pounds, females are smaller and weigh around 220 pounds.

Panda Behaviour

Pandas are territorial, and use scent and claw marks on trees to define their territory. Pandas only come together during the breeding season. The males pay no part in raising the young.

Despite their size, pandas are good climbers and can also swim well. Although not aggressive creatures, pandas have been known to occasionally attack humans.

Why Are Pandas Endangered?

Pandas have been an endangered species for a many years. This is because much of the panda's natural habitat has been cleared to make way for farms and other development. Once there were wild pandas living throughout China, but now they are restricted to the mountains.

How Many Pandas Are Left In The Wild?

It is difficult to know exactly how many pandas are left in the wild, but the number is very small. It is estimated that there are only between 1,500 and 3,000 pandas living in the wild.
Happily, conservation efforts seem to be paying off. Numbers of wild pandas are said to be increasing.
You can watch a film of pandas in the wild below.
10 Amazing Panda Facts For Kids

1. Pandas have dark skin patches and pink skin patches, which relate to the black and white areas of fur.

2. Pandas have an extremely good sense of smell.

3. The Chinese name for panda is 'Da Xiong Mao', which means "giant bear cat".

4. There are two subspecies of giant panda: the giant panda, and the brown and grey Qinling panda.

5. Pandas don't hibernate in winter.

6. Pandas are endangered because their habitat has been cleared for development and farms.

7. Pandas eat bamboo and live in bamboo forests.

8. Pandas can climb trees and swim.

9. Pandas live to be about 15-20 years old in the wild, and can live about 30 years in captivity.

10. The panda is a symbol of peace in Chinese culture.

Learn about more endangered species here.

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Imagine Seeing A Panda In The Wild...

"You are a zoologist (an animal expert), and you have been invited to study pandas in the wild. You have walked far into the Chinese jungle. It is hard work pushing through the tall, tough bamboo plants. Bamboo is the main food of the panda, so you know you are in the right place.

Suddenly you hear something. You duck down behind a bush. Moving slowly between the bamboo stalks is a large creature. It stops, and looks around. Although you have never seen one in the wild before, it is very familiar.

The panda, with its black and white body and black eye patches, is unmistakeable. Although there are only very few pandas left in the wild, people all around the world know what they look like. You hope that your studies will help this beautiful animal."

Pandas In Chinese Legend

There is a special story about pandas in Chinese history. Legend says that pandas used to be only white, without any black on them. Once there was a small girl who tried to save a baby panda from a leopard. So the leopard attacked the girl instead and killed her. The baby panda was saved, but the pandas were really sad. When they went to the girl's funeral, the pandas wore armbands of black ashes. When they wiped their eyes and hugged each other, they left smears of black ashes. This is where the black on their faces and bodies comes from.

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Panda Facts For Kids & Adults: Information, Pictures & Video

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The giant panda, with its black and white fur and black eye patches, is a very distinctive animal. Most people in the world are able to recognise a panda. However, despite its popularity, the panda is an endangered animal, and rare in the wild.

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Giant Panda: Learn about the cuddly looking bear.

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Learn about giant panda bears from China. They eat bamboo in the mountains and are an endangered species.

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Read our awesome facts about the beautiful panda and download or print our fun quiz sheet in the activity section at the end to test your knowledge afterwards!

Along with being super cute looking, pandas are really interesting animals. Sit back and find out why the panda bear is such an amazing animal.

The History of the Panda Bear

Pandas have lived on earth for two to three million years. Who would have thought that! They've certainly been around for a long time.

Did you know that for ages scientists didn't know whether pandas were bears or more closely related to raccoons? That would be a massive type of raccoon!

Well now they know of course as it's called a Panda Bear and not a Panda Raccoon. But, that's just the giant panda; they believe that the red panda is indeed from the family of raccoons. Wow.

Pandas are a symbol of peace in China. Hundreds of years ago, when tribes where fighting, they would raise a flag with a picture of a panda on it to stop a battle or call a truce. How awesome is that?

Pandas were once hunted by the Chinese as they thought their fur gave them magical protection over evil spirits. But this isn't allowed anymore thank goodness.

According to legend, the panda was once an all-white bear, but when a small girl tried to save a panda cub from being attacked by a leopard, the leopard killed the girl instead.

Pandas came to her funeral wearing armbands of black ashes.

As they wiped their eyes, hugged each other, and covered the ears, they smudged the black ashes to give them their black and white appearance they have today. What a great story.

There are only 1,000 pandas left in the wild; that's frightening and they are endangered.

The main reason that they're endangered is that areas are being cleared for crops and also the natural die-back of the bamboo they eat.

They unfortunately don't migrate to other areas because they are kind of cornered in by human settlements, so they will often starve to death. That's very sad.

But there's some good news...cool. People are doing loads of great things to save these magnificent animals with special sanctuaries where they can eat and live in peace.

The word 'panda' might have come from the Nepalese word 'poonya', which means 'bamboo-eating animal' or 'plant-eating animal.' Sounds fairly accurate.

Did you know that Richard Nixon received two giant pandas as gifts from China after he'd visited in 1972? What do you do with two pandas?

The two pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were put in the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Guess you can't really keep them in your backyard!

In China, giant pandas are considered to be national treasures.

Here we take at where Pandas live and surprisingly you can only find them in one place in the world.

Pandas are only found in China, in the wild. Of course you could see some in a zoo, but China is really the special place they call home.

They live in remote mountainous areas in Central China in forests, of course where there's lots of bamboo.

Here's a little biology lesson on Pandas so you can be panda smart!

Pandas are only about the size of a stick of butter at birth, and they're hairless and can't do anything for themselves. The mother normally cradles the tiny cub in one paw and holds it close to her chest!

How cute is that? The mother won't leave the den at all for a couple of days, not even for food or water!

A panda stays in its Mom's tummy for 5 months and it's born in a nest of bamboo. They weigh only 5 ounces (140 grams) at birth and will only crawl when they're about 3 months old. Cute.

They are born white and only get their color much later.

When babies are 7 months old they can climb trees.

Baby pandas are clumsy! They often trip, fall and roll over while exploring their surroundings. Just like normal babies!

It stays with its mother for about 18 months, until it can make its own territory.

It takes about five years for a female cub to become an adult and up to seven years for a male cub. Don't think we'd be ready to be adults at the ages of 5 and 7.

A panda mother is 900 times bigger than her new-born cub. Wow that's a lot.

Guess what pandas eat?

Well, they eat bamboo, but it's not very nutritious, so unbelievably they have to eat up to 44 pounds (20 kilograms) of it every day.

It can take them 16 hours to munch their way through that! Wow. That's most of the day!

Imagine if we had to eat continuously for 16 hours a day, we'd be very full indeed.

They grasp the stalks with 5 fingers and a special wrist bone, that's like an extra finger, and then use their teeth to peel off the tough layers to get to the nice soft, juicy bits underneath.

How big are pandas? They grow up to be about 5 feet long (1.5 meters), which is about the same as young adult, so they're not terribly tall.

How much do pandas weigh? Pandas weigh around 300 pounds (136 kilograms). That's pretty heavy. The average 10 year old weight 100 pounds (45 kilograms), so that could be three of you together!

That's a lot when you consider that they're roughly the same height.

How long do pandas live? Pandas can live for up to 20 years in the wild and 30 - 35 years in human care.

Amazing Facts about Panda Bears

These facts will amaze you about these friendly looking bears that sit and munch away at bamboo. Enjoy!

Pandas are very well known for their black and white coat and black eye patches, but did you know that they are one of the shyest and rarest animals in the world? They've got to be saved!

What would the world be like without pandas?

So we know they're pretty shy, but this is cool; they can bleat, roar, growl and honk! Or they sneeze in a hilarious way. Do you think they honk at passers-by?

Pandas have an extra digit on their hand which obviously helps them to tear the bamboo, but this is seriously cool, their stomach is covered with a thick layer of mucus so they don't get any splinters.

Awesome.

The giant panda has the largest molar teeth of any carnivore; surprising when you consider they're an omnivore (meaning they eat both meat and plants).

They've got an extra molar on their bottom jaw and all their molars are made especially for them to munch their way through all that bamboo.

They can actually crush bamboo stems up to 1.5 inches (4 centimeters) in diameter.

They are quite serious about getting to their bamboo, as they will climb as high as 13,100 feet (4,000 meters) to feed on the higher slopes of the mountains they live on!

That is just under half the height of Mount Everest...unbelievable.

Who would think that these awesome bears can swim, and really well too.

They're also very good climbers as their paws are wide with furry undersides and they have long claws that help them keep their grip.

Have you ever heard of the saying 'Wherever you lay your hat, that's your home'?

Well pandas seem to live by this. They don't actually have a place to rest, they will literally just lie down where they are, and close their peepers.

These bears actually don't hibernate, but if its super-duper cold they'll take shelter in a cave or hollow tree.

A panda marks its territory with its stumpy tail and uses it like a brush to let everyone know that this is their place, and no one else dare enter! They've got scent glands underneath their tails.

Pandas also have very good smell. Males use this smell to stay away from other males and also to find females.

Pandas can stand upright, but their short hind legs can't support their bodies. Amazingly a panda's bones are twice as heavy as the bones of other animals that are the same size as them.

A panda fur is worth between $60,000 and $100,000 on the illegal trade market. That's awful, no wonder they were hunted. Luckily there are special programs in place now to protect these amazing animals.

When you look at a panda, you probably think nice soft fur. Well it's not at all; in fact it is thick and wiry. Don't think we'll be stroking them.

Nobody really knows why pandas have the markings they do.

Some believe that the colors are used for camouflage while others believe the black and white markings help the panda keep a steady temperature, or that the colors help the giant panda avoid other pandas.

There's even a theory that the panda's large black eye spots make their eyes look bigger, and then their stare looks more aggressive. Who knows?

Did you know that a panda is the most expensive animal to keep in a zoo? It costs five times more than an elephant.

We know these gorgeous animals like their bamboo, but they're super-fast when it comes to eating them; they can peel and eat a bamboo shoot in about 40 seconds. That's fast.

Pandas are lone animals and it would be very rare to see more than one panda at a time in the wild.

Have you heard of the World Wildlife Fund? Well if you take a look at their logo, the panda has been on that logo since 1961 when they were founded. Amazing.

How cool is this. Under a panda's fur, the skin is black where the fur is black and pink where the fur is white.

Sometimes pandas have been seen rolling down slopes. Are they playing or are they trying to get rid of twigs in their fur? Who knows what they're up to, but it must be cute to see.

Remember the movie 'Kung Fu Panda' well it features a giant panda called 'Po'.

Pandas don't really feel the cold as their coat is very thick.

The giant panda has the second longest tail after the sloth bear. It measures about 6 inches (15 centimeters).

Pandas have very good manners and they sit up nice and straight while they eat! Remember to sit up straight while you're eating.

The Chinese word for Panda is 'Da Xiong Mao' meaning 'Giant Bear Cat'.

A male Panda is called a boar and a female is called a sow.

What cool and interesting animals these are! We hope you enjoyed our awesome fun facts. Do you have any other facts to add?

Click to download or print our panda facts quiz sheet to use in class or at home! Questions about Pandas (all answers can be found on this page).

The Most Dangerous Animal is...The Hippo?

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Read our awesome facts about the beautiful panda and download or print our fun quiz sheet in the activity section at the end to test your knowledge afterwards! Along with being super cute looking, pandas are really interesting animals. Sit back and find out why the panda bear is such an amazing animal.

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Here at National Geographic Kids, we love wonderful wild bears! Join us as we learn about one of nature's cutest critters in our facts about pandas!
Facts about pandas

1. Giant pandas (often referred to as simply "pandas") are black and white bears. In the wild, they are found in thick bamboo forests, high up in the mountains of central China - you can check out our cool facts about China, here!

2. These magnificent mammals are omnivores. But whilst pandas will occasionally eat small animals and fish, bamboo counts for 99 percent of their diet.

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3. Pandas are BIG eaters - every day they fill their tummies for up to 12 hours, shifting up to 12 kilograms of bamboo!

4. The giant panda's scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which means "black and white cat-foot".

5. Giant pandas grow to between 1.2m and 1.5m, and weigh between 75kg and 135kg. Scientists aren't sure how long pandas live in the wild, but in captivity they live to be around 30 years old.

6. Baby pandas are born pink and measure about 15cm - that's about the size of a pencil! They are also born blind and only open their eyes six to eight weeks after birth.

7. It's thought that these magnificent mammals are solitary animals, with males and females only coming together briefly to mate. Recent research, however, suggests that giant pandas occasionally meet outside of breeding season, and communicate with each other through scent marks and calls.

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable panda primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

8. Family time! Female pandas give birth to one or two cubs every two years. Cubs stay with their mothers for 18 months before venturing off on their own!

9. Unlike most other bears, pandas do not hibernate. When winter approaches, they head lower down their mountain homes to warmer temperatures, where they continue to chomp away on bamboo!

10. Excitingly, conservation efforts mean that panda bear numbers are increasing in the wild. Though there's still lots of work to be done, the species is no longer considered endangered. Hooray!

Love reading about brilliant bears? Then check out our ten black bear facts, here!

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10 facts about pandas! - National Geographic Kids

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Check out ten facts about pandas here at National Geographic Kids. Learn where pandas live, what they eat, how big they grow and much more!

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Check out our awesome range of animal facts for kids and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom.

Giant Panda Facts for Kids

Check out our giant panda facts for kids. Learn about panda cubs, where pandas live, what they eat, how much they weigh and much more.

Read on and enjoy a variety of interesting information about pandas.

The giant panda is native to China.

It has a black and white coat that features large black patches around its eyes.

Pandas are an endangered species. Population estimates vary but there may be around 2000 left living in the wild.

A giant panda cub weighs only around 150 grams (5 oz) at birth.

Adult males can weigh up to 150 kg (330 lb).

Giant panda have a lifespan of around 20 years in the wild.

Female pandas raise cubs on their own (the male leaves after mating).

The diet of a panda is made up almost entirely of bamboo.

Giant pandas eat as much as 10 kg (22 lb) of bamboo a day.

Giant pandas are good climbers.

The scientific name for the giant panda is 'ailuropoda melanoleuca'.

An animated movie from 2008 named 'Kung Fu Panda' features a giant panda called 'Po'.

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Giant Panda Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Pandas

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Check out our awesome range of animal facts for kids and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom. Giant Panda Facts for Kids Check out our giant panda facts for kids. Learn about panda cubs, where pandas live, what they eat, how much they weigh and much more.