A giant panda cub is born about the size of a stick of butter. It weighs only about 3 to 5 ounces. It is blind and helpless.

A cub opens its eyes at about 6 to 8 weeks old. It cannot move around on its own until it is about three months old. A mother may have two cubs. Usually only one survives.

A giant panda is a bear with black-and-white fur. It has black ears and black patches around its eyes. Its legs and shoulders are black. Its body is white.

Adult giant pandas are about 4 to 6 feet long. That is about as big as an American black bear.

Wild giant pandas live in the mountains of China. The forests there are wet and misty. A thick, woolly coat keeps a panda warm in cool forests. Giant pandas do not hibernate.

A giant panda eats almost nothing but bamboo. It sometimes eats other plants and small animals. It eats at least 20 pounds of food a day. It spends 10 to 16 hours of each day finding and eating food.

Words to know

• helpless: cannot help itself
• survives: stays alive
• misty: full of fog