Written by Michael Bryan
Modified & Updated: 19 May 2024
Reviewed by Sherman Smith
From Ancient China until the present, people have always loved pandas. Whether in popular snacks, animated films, or your Instagram feed, the world just can’t seem to get enough of these fuzzy creatures. However, there’s more to them than being China’s mascot. With less than 2,000 individuals left in the world, human activity has once threatened pandas into extinction. Take a closer look at these rare animals with these panda facts.
- The typical panda grows from 1.2 m to 1.9 m.
- Pandas are native to south-central China.
- In captivity, the average lifespan of a panda is 30 years.
- Pandas typically weigh from 70 kg to 100 kg.
- An estimated 1,864 pandas still roam the wild, while 400 are kept in captivity.
- Pandas share close genetic similarities with bears and raccoons.
- Pandas rely on spatial memory (recording of information about one’s environment) rather than visual memory.
- The panda’s gestation only takes 3 up to 5 months.
- Cubs or baby pandas are born regularly in summer, mostly in August.
- Pandas usually make nests from branches and dry grass.
- In general, pandas only give birth to a single cub or baby panda.
- Most pandas live in the mountain ranges of central China, mostly in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi.
- Commercial farming and deforestation threatens pandas.
- China has two national symbols: the Chinese dragon and the giant panda.
- Pandas favor black bamboo, water bamboo, and arrow bamboo among 10 other bamboo species.
- China owns all the pandas in the world.
- The world’s oldest panda lived up to 38 years.
- Pandas can survive on a bamboo diet alone.
- China views the panda as a symbol of friendship and peace.
- Pandas eat up to 38kg of bamboo each day to meet their energy needs.
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