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The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is used to distinguish it from the distantly related red panda. Adult individuals average 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb), and are typically 1.2 to 1.9 m (3 ft 11 in to 6 ft 3 in) long. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males are typically 10 to 20% larger. The fur is white, with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. A thumb is visible on the bear's forepaw, which helps in holding bamboo in place for feeding. Giant pandas have adapted larger molars and expanded temporal fossa to meet their dietary requirements.
The giant panda is exclusively found in six mountainous regions in a few provinces. It is also found in elevations of up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Its diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, making the bear mostly herbivorous, despite being classified in the order Carnivora. Pandas evolved the ability to effectively digest starch, making the shoot an important energy source. Though mostly starch, bamboo shoots are 32% protein, and therefore a good substitute for a carnivorous diet. Giant pandas are solitary, only gathering in times of mating. Females rear cubs for an average of 18 to 24 months. Potential predators of sub-adult pandas include leopards. They heavily rely on olfactory communication to communicate with one another; scent marks are used as chemical cues and on landmarks like rocks or trees. Giant pandas live long lives, with the oldest known individual dying at 38.
As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived, and it is a conservation-reliant vulnerable species. A 2007 report showed 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise. By March 2015, the wild giant panda population had increased to 1,864 individuals. In 2016, it was reclassified on the IUCN Red List from "endangered" to "vulnerable", affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda. In July 2021, Chinese authorities also reclassified the giant panda as vulnerable. The giant panda has often served as China's national symbol, appeared on Chinese Gold Panda coins since 1982 and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing.
For many decades, the precise taxonomic classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons.[3] In 1985, molecular studies indicated the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family Ursidae.[4][5] These studies show it diverged about 19 million years ago from the common ancestor of the Ursidae;[6] it is the most basal member of this family and equidistant from all other extant bear species.[6][7] The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil.[8]
The word panda was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word panda has been found.[9] The closest candidate is the Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal. In many older sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" refers to the red panda (Ailurus fulgens),[10] which was described some 40 years earlier and over that period was the only animal known as a panda.[11]
A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012 confirms that the separation of the Qinling population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinling population further diverged into two groups, named the Minshan and the Qionglai-Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.[20]
Giant pandas once roamed across southeast Asia, and were found in habitats of northern Vietnam and Myanmar. Their range in China spanned much of the southeast region. By the Pleistocene, climate change effected panda populations, and the subsequent domination of modern humans led to large scale habitat loss.[29][30] In 2001, it was estimated that the range of the giant panda had declined by about 99% of its range in earlier millenniums.[31]
The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, limbs and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white.[39] The bear's distinctive coloration appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments as they do not hibernate. The white areas serve as camouflage in snow, while the black shoulders and legs conceal them in shade.[40] Studies in the wild have found that when viewed from a distance, the panda displays disruptive coloration, while up close, they rely more on blending in.[41] The black ears may be used to display aggression,[40] while the eye patches might facilitate them identifying one another.[40][42] The giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.[39] The panda's skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa.[43][44] A study revealed that a 117.5 kg (259 lb) giant panda had a biteforce of 1298.9 newtons (BFQ 151.4) at canine teeth and 1815.9 newtons (BFQ 141.8) at carnassial teeth.[45]
Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and round face, are adaptations to its bamboo diet. Anthropologist Russell Ciochon observed: "[much] like the vegetarian gorilla, the low body surface area to body volume [of the giant panda] is indicative of a lower metabolic rate. This lower metabolic rate and a more sedentary lifestyle allows the giant panda to subsist on nutrient poor resources such as bamboo."[60] The giant panda's round face is the result of powerful jaw muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw.[60] Large molars crush and grind fibrous plant material.[61]
Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, with the most common including Fargesia dracocephala[64] and Fargesia rufa.[65] Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less.[66] Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly ursine teeth and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available. In captivity, zoos typically maintain the giant panda's bamboo diet, though some will provide specially formulated biscuits or other dietary supplements.[67]
Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs are vulnerable to attacks by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens,[69] eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb) may be vulnerable to predation by leopards.[70]
Giant pandas are sympatric with other large mammals and bamboo feeders, such as the takin (Budorcas taxicolor). The takin and giant panda share a similar ecological niche, and they consume the same resources. When competition for food is fierce, pandas disperse to the outskirts of takin distribution. Other possible competitors include but is not limited to, the Eurasian wild pig (Sus scrofa), Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) and the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus). Giant pandas avoid areas with a mid-to-high density of livestock, as they depress the vegetation.[71] The Tibetan Plateau is the only known area where both giant and red pandas can be found. Although sharing near-identical ecological niches, competition between the two species has rarely been observed. Nearly 50% of their respective distribution overlaps, and successful coexistence is achieved through distinct habitat selection. They alter their behavioral patterns to feeding at dawn till the early twilight stages.[72]
A captive female died from toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan known as Toxoplasma gondii that infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans.[73] They are likely susceptible to diseases from Baylisascaris schroederi, a parasitic nematode known to infect giant panda intestines. This nematode species is known to give pandas baylisascariasi, a deadly disease that kills more wild pandas than any other cause. Additionally, the population is threatened by canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus, rotavirus, canine adenovirus, and canine coronavirus. Bacteria, such as Clostridium welchii, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, may also be lethal.[74]
The giant panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in the hilly province of Sichuan.[75] Giant pandas are generally solitary.[56] Each adult has a defined territory and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. Social encounters occur primarily during the brief breeding season in which pandas in proximity to one another will gather.[76] After mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub.[39] Pandas were thought to fall into the crepuscular category, those who are active twice a day, at dawn and dusk; however, pandas may belong to a category all of their own, with activity peaks in the morning, afternoon and midnight. The low nutrition quality of bamboo means pandas need to eat more frequently, and due to their lack of major predators they can be active at any time of the day.[77] Activity is highest in June and decreases in late summer to autumn with an increase from November through the following March.[78] Activity is also directly related to the amount of sunlight during colder days.[78] There is a significant interaction of solar radiation, such that solar radiation has a stronger positive effect on activity levels of panda bears.[78]
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