China’s Giant Pandas

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• Background Info
• Questions
• Fast Facts
• Explore More
• Vocabulary

• Audience versions of this page: Family

  Giant pandas are one of the rarest animals on Earth. With a species range once extending thousands of kilometers, today they are confined to a few pockets of bamboo forest.

   

  Our video, part of Nat Geo WILD’s “Destination Wild” series, complements our map of the giant panda’s current and historic ranges, and an outline of the categories and criteria of endangered species.

   

  Use these resources to help answer questions in the Questions tab. Then, read some Fast Facts about these “shy, elusive, and gentle” creatures.

• 1. According to the video, pandas once roamed “from Beijing to the Himalayas.” What modern-day nations did this species range include? (Hint: Take a quick look at the giant panda layers on our MapMaker Interactive.)

     Show Answer

     The panda species range once included China, Myanmar (Burma), and Vietnam. Today, their range only extends to pockets of bamboo forests in western China.

  2. About 1,850 giant pandas are alive in the wild, and about 300 live in captivity. Based on our “Endangered Species: Categories and Criteria” outline, this places giant pandas in what category of endangered species: vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, or extinct in the wild?

     Show Answer

     Giant pandas are a true “vulnerable species.” This means they are less threatened than an "endangered species” species, but more threatened than a “near-threatened” species.

  3. China is taking a two-pronged approach to panda conservation. What are the two strategies Chinese conservationists are using to protect the giant panda?

     Show Answer

     Chinese conservationists are working to increase the number of pandas in captivity and release more pandas into the wild.

• Pandas are a species of bear. They are most closely related to the spectacled bear of South America.

  Pandas do not live in dens or other permanent homes. They sleep and raise their cubs under trees, stumps, or cliffs.

  Unlike many bears, pandas do not hibernate. During the cold season, they simply migrate to warmer territory.

  Pandas are omnivores. Besides bamboo, they will eat grasses, fish, eggs, and grubs (worms and insects). In captivity, pandas will also eat honey, fruit, and specially made “panda chow.”

  Bamboo leaves and shoots (new growths) make up 99% of a panda’s diet.

• Interactives

  • National Geographic Education: Giant Pandas—Into the Wild

  Maps

  • MapMaker Interactive: Giant Panda Ranges

  Video

  • National Zoo: Panda Cam

  Websites

  • National Geographic Kids: Animals—Giant Pandas

• Term	Part of Speech	Definition	Encyclopedic Entry
  bamboo	Noun	type of huge, woody grass.
  captivity	Noun	confinement or imprisonment.
  complement	Verb	to complete or make a positive addition to.
  confine	Verb	to limit or enclose.
  conservation	Noun	management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.	Encyclopedic Entry: conservation
  criteria	Plural Noun	set of standards or rules.
  den	Noun	protected shelter of a wild animal.
  elusive	Adjective	difficult to capture.
  endangered species	Noun	organism threatened with extinction.	Encyclopedic Entry: endangered species
  extend	Verb	to enlarge or continue.
  forest	Noun	ecosystem filled with trees and underbrush.
  hibernate	Verb	to reduce activity almost to sleeping in order to conserve food and energy, usually in winter.
  migrate	Verb	to move from one place or activity to another.
  omnivore	Noun	organism that eats a variety of organisms, including plants, animals, and fungi.	Encyclopedic Entry: omnivore
  rare	Adjective	unusual or uncommon.
  shoot	Noun	newly sprouted plant or plant growth.
  species range	Noun	native, geographic area in which an organism can be found. Range also refers to the geographic distribution of a particular species.	Encyclopedic Entry: species range
  territory	Noun	land an animal, human, or government protects from intruders.
  vulnerable species	Noun	level of conservation between "near threatened" and "endangered." Vulnerable is the lowest of the "threatened" categories.