A giant panda is a bear with black-and-white fur. It has black ears, and it has black patches around its eyes. Its legs and shoulders are black, and its body is white. Scientists are not sure why it is black and white. Adult giant pandas are about 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) long. That is about as big as an American black bear.
About 99 percent of a giant panda's food is bamboo. Sometimes, it also eats other plants and small animals. Bamboo does not give much nourishment, so a giant panda must eat a great deal of it. In a single day, it eats at least 20 pounds of food.
Each day, a giant panda spends 10 to 16 hours of the day finding and eating food. It has strong jaws and flat back teeth for crushing tough bamboo.
Wild giant pandas live in the mountains of China. They live in only three Chinese provinces: Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
The forests in the mountains are wet and misty. A thick, woolly coat keeps a giant panda warm in its cool forests.
Giant pandas once lived in lowland places. Farming and development now keep them in the mountains. Cutting down the forests has split their home into small, separated pieces.
Most of the time, giant pandas live alone. A giant panda can climb trees, and it can swim too. Giant pandas do not hibernate in the winter.
Giant pandas leave scent marks in their home. Most of the way they talk to each other is by scent.
At birth, a giant panda cub is about the size of a stick of butter. It weighs only about 3 to 5 ounces. A mother may have two cubs, but usually only one of them survives. A cub drinks its mother's milk for most of its first year of life.
Words to know
- bamboo: a tall plant
- nourishment: food for growing
- provinces: parts of China
- scent: a smell
The short version
Giant pandas are bears that eat almost nothing but bamboo. About 99 percent of their diet is bamboo. Bamboo does not give much nourishment, so a giant panda must eat a great deal of it. A giant panda also spends 10 to 16 hours of every day finding and eating food.
Quick facts
- About 99 percent of a giant panda's diet is bamboo.
- A giant panda eats at least 20 pounds of food every day.
- A giant panda spends 10 to 16 hours of every day finding and eating food.
- Giant pandas have strong jaws and flat back teeth for crushing tough bamboo.
What do giant pandas eat?
Giant pandas eat almost nothing but bamboo. About 99 percent of a giant panda's diet is bamboo. Besides bamboo, they sometimes eat other plants and small animals.
How much do giant pandas eat in a day?
A giant panda eats at least 20 pounds of food every day. Bamboo does not give much nourishment, so a giant panda must eat a great deal of it. A giant panda also spends 10 to 16 hours of every day finding and eating food.
