Giant Panda

Facts

IUCN ENDANGERED (EN)

Facts about this animal

The Giant Panda is unmistakable (WWF logo). It is a large headed, heavily built bearlike animal with a striking black-and-white colour pattern. The head-body length is up to 160 cm, the height at the shoulder is 65-75 cm and it can weight 75 to 130 kg. The females are about 20 % lighter than the males, but otherwise the sexes are alike.

The coat is harsh, long and dense. The black often has a brownish tinge, and the white becomes soiled in an old coat. Sometimes the white parts are washed with brownish or reddish. Gestation lasts 135 days, the pups are born blind, pink, and weigh about 100-200g . One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns gray where its hair will eventually become black. A slight pink color may appear on cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. The panda's diet is 99% bamboo, in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. he coat is harsh, long and dense. The black often has a brownish tinge, and the white becomes soiled in an old coat. Sometimes the white parts are washed with brownish or reddish. The weight at birth is about 0.2 kg. The cubs gain 2.5 kg per month during the first year of their lives. The colour pattern is as in the adult.

Did you know?
That the most popular name in China for the giant panda is literally "large bear cat", or "bear cat". And that the name may have been inspired by the giant panda's eyes? which have pupils that are cat-like vertical slits – unlike other bear species, which have round pupils

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	CARNIVORA
Suborder	FISSIPEDIA
Family	URSIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Name (English)	Giant Panda
Name (French)	Panda géant
Name (German)	Grosser Panda
Name (Spanish)	Panda gigante
Local names	Daxiongmao, Damaoxiong (Chin.)
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Heather Angel

Distribution

Distribution
Range	China: about 6000 sq.km in Shaanxi and Sichuan. Regionally extinct in other provinces.
Habitat	Bamboo forests.
Wild population	Approx. 1,000-2,000 (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	242 in 2008), of which 22 reported to ISIS (2008). 67 animal are kept at the breeding centre in Wolong, China. Recent births outside China at Vienna Zoo and San Diego Zoo.

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

There is no Container Note for the air transport of giant pandas in the IATA Live Animals Regulations.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Jeff Kubina

Why do zoos keep this animal

The giant panda is an endangered species with a small wild population. With a view of building up a viable reserve population, an International Studbook has been established already in 1976 under the WAZA umbrella, and coordinated conservation breeding programmes are operated at the regional level by AZA and JAZA.

How this animal should be kept

For a pair of giant pandas, an outdoor enxlosure of at least 600 m² is required, and there should be adequate possibilities for separateing the individuals. The soil should be well drained and covered with grass. A pool of 20 m² and up to 1.5 m deep is required. The Austrian legislation prescribes indoor facilities of 50 m² per animal.

The diet consists primarily of bamboo, between 10 and 20 kg per animal and day. In addition, about 2 kg of carrots and apples and small quantities of animal protein should be given.