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© naturepl.com / Edwin Giesbers / WWF
Giant panda
The giant panda is perhaps the most powerful symbol in the world when it comes to species conservation.

Adored around the world, the distinctive black and white animal is a national treasure in China and has been the symbol of WWF since its formation in 1961.

While its numbers are slowly increasing, the giant panda remains one of the rarest and most endangered bears in the world.

Learn more about this amazing species!

About the Panda: Conservation and solutions:

© naturepl.com / Eric Baccega / WWF

Fast facts

  • 1,864 wild giant pandas were counted during a 2014 survey
  • An adult panda can weigh about 100-150kg and grow up to 150cm long
  • Pandas feed for up to 14 hours a day and can eat up to 38kg of bamboo
  • When born, a panda cub is just 1/900th the size of its mother
  • Pandas are good swimmers and excellent tree climbers
  • Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats

© naturepl.com /Juan Carlos Munoz / WWF
Common name
Common name

Giant Panda (En); Panda Géant (Fr); Panda gigante (Sp);

Geographic place

habitat

Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests of Southwest China

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Population

population

1,864 in the wild (2014)

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Height

height

Upto 150cm for adults

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Latin name

scientific name

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Endangered

status

Vulnerable

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Did you know?

did you know?

That the panda cub is 1/900th the size of its mother

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News
Giant panda eating bamboo in Sichuan province

04 Sep 2016

Symbol of WWF is now one step further from extinction

Love Giant Pandas?

Giant panda eating bamboo in Sichuan province

© Susan A. Mainka / WWF

Emblem of global biodiversity
After decades of effort, wild panda numbers are rising, but there are still only 1,864 spread across 20 pockets of bamboo forest. And the remaining pandas still face a number of threats, particularly habitat loss and fragmentation.

But the Chinese government is committed to conserving the species and its habitat, and has already drastically increased the number of panda reserves.

WWF has been active in giant panda conservation since 1980, and is continuing to support the government's efforts to give the species more room to feed and breed.
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Pandas playing in Sichuan province

© Susan A. Mainka / WWF

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Giant female panda named n°8 with her 1 month old baby. Wolong Nature Reserve, China.
© Giant female panda named n°8 with her 1 month old baby. Wolong Nature Reserve, China. © Susan A. MAINKA / WWF

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