Giant Panda

Photos

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Giant pandas are bears and are members of the Order Carnivora. They are unique because, although they evolved among the mostly carnivorous bear species of the world, their diet is vegetarian. Despite the availability of other plants, they feed almost exclusively on bamboo.

Research
Behavioral research has long been a hallmark of the giant panda program at Zoo Atlanta. Giant pandas communicate with one another in dense bamboo forests primarily by scent. Males regularly scent-mark the margins of their territories by adopting a “headstand” position to mark a bamboo stalk with their anogenital glands. Research at Zoo Atlanta has demonstrated that vocalizations, although seemingly subtle, are crucially important communicative tools, especially during the reproductive season. Research by Zoo Atlanta and partners has also demonstrated that giant pandas have color vision.

Other focus topics of research done by Zoo Atlanta have included studies on spatial memory; pregnancy detection and monitoring; and maternal and developmental behavior.

PHYSICAL FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS:

The low nutrient value of bamboo figures prominently in the biology of the giant panda. They have extremely powerful jaws and associated muscles to crunch through the woody stems of bamboo. Each hand bears a specialized metacarpal bone in the wrist that functions as a thumb would in humans, to allow them to grasp the circular bamboo stalks. While other herbivorous animals, such as antelopes, zebras, or rabbits, have very long digestive tracts, the giant panda retains an essentially bear-like digestive tract. Thus, the digestive efficiency of the bamboo they consume is quite low. Examination of the feces demonstrates that their food has been only partially digested. The low nutrient value of their food and their low digestive efficiency results in an animal that is constrained to a low-metabolism. This lifestyle explains why giant pandas sleep so often and why they eat such enormous amounts of bamboo.

Individuals do not travel long distances, and males will establish territories that are not particularly large compared with other species in the Order Carnivora. Adult females average about 230 pounds in weight, with males sometimes reaching 350 pounds. Their hair is very dense, conserving their body heat in their cold habitats. Their iconic coloration remains a mystery to scientists but may aid with camouflage.

LIFESTYLE AND REPRODUCTION:

Females are fertile for only a very short period of time and exhibit delayed implantation. Although twins are not unusual, a mother will typically only rear one cub. Adults are solitary, with mating pairings being quite brief. The tiny cubs are altricial, or not born in an advanced state of development, and are completely helpless, blind and deaf, and without the fur necessary to regulate their own body temperatures. As a result, maternal care is extensive. Cubs do not begin eating bamboo until they are around a year old.

When twins are born in zoos, extraordinary measures are taken to train the female to accept swapping of her cubs regularly 24 hours a day, so that she only cares for one a time, but that both receive adequate care. Zoo Atlanta has been very successful in this resource-intensive process.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Giant Panda Conservation Center is closed. Thank you for your tremendous support of 25 years of giant pandas at Zoo Atlanta.

RANGE:

Currently, giant pandas are limited to six mountainous areas of southwestern China in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi. Historical records indicate a much larger distribution, including much of China and portions of Myanmar and Vietnam. Their preferred bamboo forests are found at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet.

HABITAT:

Their preferred cool and wet bamboo forests are found at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Cubs are raised in rocky crevices, dead trees, or caves.

ZOO ATLANTA CONSERVATION EFFORTS:

Zoo Atlanta has contributed over $17 million for conservation of giant pandas in China, making giant pandas the Zoo’s most significant long-term financial investment in wildlife conservation. The majority of these funds are used for projects for wild giant pandas, and eight different nature reserves have been supported with these funds. Our supported projects fall under three categories: research, infrastructure and management. Examples of the projects include research on genetic diversity; construction of protection stations; reserve management and reforestation projects; and purchase of equipment used by reserve staff to census and monitor giant panda populations.

ZOO ATLANTA RESEARCH:

Learn more about what we’ve learned about giant pandas here.