Body structure:- The giant panda has a black-and-white coat. Adults measure around 4 to 6 ft long and around 2 ft 6 in tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 150 kilograms and females up to 125 kilograms. The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. The giant panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The giant panda has large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo.

The giant panda’s paw has a “thumb” and five fingers; the “thumb” is actually a modified bone, which helps the giant panda to hold bamboo while eating. The giant panda’s tail, measuring 4 to 6 inch, is the second longest in the bear family. The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.

Diet:- Though the panda belongs to the order Carnivores, its diet is primarily herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo. The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg of bamboo shoots a day.  Pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity and zoos they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, bananas or specially-formulated biscuits.

Classification:- The giant panda shares characteristics of both bears and raccoons. However, molecular studies suggest that the giant panda is a true bear. Its closest relative is the spectacled bear of South America. Despite the shared name, habitat type, and diet, the giant panda and red panda are distantly related.

Subspecies:- On the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics, two subspecies of the giant panda have been recognized. The nominate subspecies are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colors. The Qinling Panda is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi and the typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a dark brown versus light brown pattern.

Reproduction:- Giant pandas reach maturity between the ages of 4 and 8. It may be reproductive until age 20. The mating season is between March and May, and lasts for two or three days only. The gestation period ranges from 95 to 160 days. Cubs weigh only 90 to 130 grams. If twins are born, usually only one survives in the wild. When the cub is first born, it is pink, blind, and toothless. The mother nurses the cub and feeds breast 6 to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time. One to two weeks after birth, the cub’s skin turns gray and its hair eventually becomes black. A month after birth, the color pattern of the cub’s fur is fully developed. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days.  The cubs are able to eat small quantities of bamboo after six months.

Conservation:- As the giant panda is threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity, it is now an endangered species. The giant panda has been a target for poaching by locals. Though the Wolong National Nature Reserve was set up in 1958 to save the declining panda population, few advances in the conservation of pandas were made. But in the 1990s, several laws introduced to check the survival of the pandas. In 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13 reserves two decades ago. The giant panda now is among the world’s most adored and protected rare animals. It is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries located in the southwest Sichuan province and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.

The giant panda is universally loved, and has a special significance in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as it has been the organization’s logo since 1961, the year WWF was founded.