Editing Giant panda (section)

{{short description|Species of bear}}
{{good article}}
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{{redirect-multi|3|Panda|Pandas|Panda bear|the red panda|Red panda|other uses|Panda (disambiguation)|and|Pandas (disambiguation)|and|Giant panda (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}  
{{Speciesbox
| name = Giant panda
| image = Grosser Panda.JPG
| image_caption = Giant panda at the [[Ocean Park Hong Kong]]
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Swaisgood, R. |author2=Wang, D. |author3=Wei, F. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=''Ailuropoda melanoleuca'' |page=e.T712A121745669 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T712A45033386.en}}</ref>
 | status2 = CITES_A1 
 | status2_system = CITES 
 | status2_ref = <ref name="iucn"/>
| genus = Ailuropoda
| species = melanoleuca
| authority = [[Armand David|David]], 1869<ref>{{cite journal |last1=David |first1=A. |author-link=Armand David |title=Voyage en Chine |journal=Bulletin des Nouvelles Archives du Muséum |date=1869 |volume=5 |page=13 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13953952 |access-date=21 February 2018 |archive-date=12 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812053828/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13953952 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision =
*''A. m. melanoleuca''
*''[[Qinling panda|A. m. qinlingensis]]''
| range_map = Mapa distribuicao Ailuropoda melanoleuca.png
| range_map_caption = Giant panda range
}}

The '''giant panda''' ('''''Ailuropoda melanoleuca'''''), also known as the '''panda bear''' or simply '''panda''', is a [[bear]] species [[endemic]] to [[China]]. It is characterised by its white [[animal coat|coat]] with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is rotund; adult individuals weigh {{cvt|100|to|115|kg}} and are typically {{cvt|1.2|to|1.9|m}} long. It is [[sexually dimorphic]], with males being typically 10 to 20% larger than females. A [[thumb]] is visible on its forepaw, which helps in holding [[bamboo]] in place for feeding. It has large [[molar teeth]] and expanded [[temporal fossa]] to meet its dietary requirements. It can digest [[starch]] and is mostly [[herbivorous]] with a diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo and [[bamboo shoot]]s.

The giant panda lives exclusively in six montane regions in a few Chinese provinces at elevations of up to {{cvt|3000|m}}. It is solitary and gathers only in mating seasons. It relies on [[olfactory communication]] to communicate and uses [[scent mark]]s as chemical cues and on landmarks like rocks or trees. Females rear cubs for an average of 18 to 24 months. The oldest known giant panda was 38 years old.

As a result of farming, [[deforestation]] and infrastructural development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived. The Fourth National Survey (2011–2014), published in 2015, estimated that the wild population of giant pandas aged over 1.5 years (i.e. excluding dependent young) has increased to 1,864 individuals, based on this number and using the available estimated percentage of cubs in the population (9.6%) the [[IUCN]] estimated the total number of Pandas to be approximately 2,060.<ref name="iucn" /><ref name="Swaisgood-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Swaisgood |first1=Ronald R. |last2=Wang |first2=Dajun |last3=Wei |first3=Fuwen |title=Panda Downlisted but not Out of the Woods |journal=[[Conservation Letters]] |date=2018 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=e12355 |doi=10.1111/conl.12355 |url=https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12355 |access-date=22 March 2025 |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] on behalf of the [[Society for Conservation Biology]]|doi-access=free }}</ref> Since 2016, it has been listed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]]. In July 2021, Chinese authorities also classified the giant panda as vulnerable. It is a [[conservation-reliant species]]. By 2007, the captive population comprised 239 giant pandas in China and another 27 outside the country. It has often served as China's [[national symbol]], appeared on [[Chinese Gold Panda]] coins since 1982 and as one of the five [[Fuwa]] mascots of the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Beijing]].