When we think of giant pandas, we think of lovely black and white bears. They are cute and have many fans all over the world. But do you really know pandas? The following are 15 interesting giant panda facts to help you know more about them.
1. A Panda's Year is Equivalent to Three Human Years.
A year-old baby panda is like your 3-year-old kidA panda's year is equivalent to about three human years in terms of life expectancy.
Giant pandas live 18–20 years in the wild and 25 to 30 years in captivity.
The world's oldest giant panda was Xinxing ('New Star') in Chongqing Zoo at 38 years old and four months (1982–2020). That's the equivalent of 115 human years.
2. Pandas Have 6 "Fingers"!
Pandas use their fingers to grasp and tear bamboo.A panda's 6th "finger" is like a human thumb. It has the same function as a thumb, but it is actually an unusual wrist bone or opposable paw heel with strong muscles but no movable joints, which allows it to grasp food.
They can press the bamboo into fat cigar shapes with their 6th digits for efficient eating.
3. Pandas Will Abandon a Child if She Has Twins
Mother Pandas usually can only give birth to and raise one cub because they have limited milk and energy. So if they have twins, the mother will naturally prioritise the stronger one.
In the wild, the weaker cub is often left behind and usually doesn't survive. But in panda bases and zoos, keepers step in to help, allowing the mother to care for the babies in turns.
If the mother comes into heat, she will drive the cub away and let it start living on its own. This usually happens when the cub is around 1–2 years old.
Want to see these cute panda mom-and-cub moments in person? Start your panda tour with us!
4. Pandas are Actually the Nearsighted
You might be surprised, but giant pandas are born with about 800° nearsightedness. They can only clearly see objects within roughly 5 meters.
Most of the time, pandas rely on their sense of smell (scent markings) and hearing to navigate their surroundings. Since their main food is bamboo (not moving prey), their vision has gradually declined over time, while their smell and hearing have become sharper.
So if you see a panda staring at you, it probably can't see you clearly… but it might be listening to you or sniffing you instead!
5. Eating and Sleeping Make up Pandas' Daily Life.
A typical 45-kilo (100-pound) adult panda spends as long as 12 hours eating 12 to 38 kilos (26–84 lb) of bamboo a day. Pandas can reach 150 kg (330 lb) in captivity and eat even more!
When not eating and looking for food, pandas sleep most of the rest of the time. In the wild, giant pandas sleep for two to four hours between feeds.
6. Pandas are Loners
Typically, one panda in one enclosureGiant pandas are solitary animals. In the wild, they have their own territory, and they do not allow it to be invaded by other pandas.
That's because pandas eat bamboo and don't need to hunt in groups. If they did, they'd fight over food, which isn't good for anyone.
A panda usually needs its own 3–8 square kilometers (1–3 square miles) of bamboo forest to survive.
In panda bases or zoos, you may see some pandas living together. These are usually younger pandas that haven't become fully independent yet. Once they develop a sense of territory, keepers will separate them.
7. A Panda Can Poop 40 Times Per Day!
99% of a panda's diet consists of bamboo, but its digestive tract retains carnivorous characteristics.
This means they can only digest around 17% of the bamboo they eat, and bamboo itself is low in nutrients. So, in order to keep up their energy, pandas have to eat a lot of bamboo and thus poop a lot!
The vast majority of their feces is undigested bamboo, so it doesn't smell bad. In fact, it can even carry a faint bamboo scent.
In the past, locals made the undigested bamboo pieces in the poop into picture frames and bookmarks.
Want to prepare food for pandas or clean their enclosures? You can join a Panda Volunteer Program to experience a day as a panda keeper!
8. Pandas Used to Eat Meat
Due to climate change, prey in pandas' habitats became scarce, leaving mostly vast areas of bamboo. To survive, pandas had to switch to a vegetarian diet and gradually evolved a digestive system suited for bamboo.
We may know them as eating only bamboo, but they are still omnivores and do like some fruit (like apples and carrots) too, and can eat meat.
You can read more about pandas' diet on our What Giant Pandas Eat.
9. Pandas' Black and White Coats are Camouflage
The black parts of the panda blend seamlessly with the shadows.Pandas' habitats are mostly the bamboo forests and the snow mountain areas. Their black and white coloring helps them stay hidden while searching for bamboo.
The white of their coats helps pandas hide in the snow, while the exposed black parts make them look like big rocks.
The black helps them blend into the shadows of the forest.
Even their "dark eye circles" can reduce glare in the snow, just like wearing sunglasses.
10. Spring is the Mating Season for Pandas
Pandas go on blind dates, tooFemale giant pandas are in heat once a year for only two to three days each time, usually in March to May each year. Pregnancy lasts about 5 months.
In the wild, female giant pandas will emit special sounds such as baa, dog bark, or cow bark during their fertile period, while male giant pandas will leave scent markers as a sign to attract female giant pandas.
Females often mate with several competing males, while a male will also seek out different females to mate.
After mating, male and female pandas live separately, and the work of den building and rearing young is completed by female pandas alone.
11. Panda Cubs are Pink
A newborn panda cub weighs only 100 grams (3.5 oz). They are furless, pink, and blind. Their iconic black and white coat grows after about three weeks.
Pandas are usually born between June to August. So, if you want to see cute panda cubs, come during this time.
We have compiled more facts about baby pandas.
12. Pandas Do not Hibernate
A panda in the snowGiant pandas do not hibernate because their bamboo-based diet prevents them from storing enough fat to sleep through the winter.
Pandas are not afraid of the cold. Even in temperatures as low as -4°C (25°F), they can still be found walking in groves of bamboo with thick snow.
Pandas prefer cool weather and dislike the heat. So if you want to visit pandas, autumn and winter are the best times to see them active.
In summer, they are often less active or can only be viewed indoors behind glass.
If you want to visit pandas and play snow in winter, consider following our 6-Day Chengdu and Xiling Snow Mountain Tour to enjoy both pandas and skiing!
13. Pandas Use Scent to Mark Their Territory
A panda climbs to the top of a tree.As mentioned earlier, pandas are actually nearsighted, so they rely heavily on scent to communicate.
Giant pandas mark their territory by leaving scent on tree bark through urine, rubbing their scent glands, and other methods.
Generally, the higher they can mark a tree, the stronger they are in the panda community.
Mother pandas also mark their cubs, but sometimes cubs will mark their mothers in return!
14. There Are Two Giant Panda Subspecies
Qizai, the only captive brown panda, comes from QinlingThere are Sichuan giant pandas and Qinling giant pandas. Qinling pandas make up only 18.5 percent of the total giant panda population.
The soil, climate, and vegetation of Sichuan are very different from those of the Qinling Mountains, so the appearance, colors, and body shape of the giant pandas in the two places are different.
The Sichuan giant panda's head is similar to that of a bear, while the Qinling giant panda's head is more cat-like, with a smaller skull and larger teeth.
The two pandas are of the same origin, but separated by a large river and mountains, and further isolated by human activities. Paleontologists estimate that they broke off contact 50,000 years ago and then began the process of independent reproduction and evolution.
15. The World Didn't Know Pandas Until 1869
In fact, pandas had actually been known and recorded in China since ancient times.
However, at that time, pandas had many different names, and people didn't consider them a rare or special animal.
Very few people outside China knew about them until 1869, when a French missionary discovered pandas in Sichuan. Only then did the rest of the world learn that such an animal existed.
At that time, pandas were already close to extinction. Thanks to ongoing conservation and breeding efforts of recent years, by 2025, the wild population has recovered to around 1,900, with 808 pandas in captivity.
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