SPECIES
Giant panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
A forest-dwelling bear spends much of its day eating bamboo in the mountains of southwest China.
High in China’s mountain forests, life is organised around bamboo. The giant panda has evolved an unusual way to grasp it.
What does a giant panda eat?
mainly bamboo
Where does a giant panda live?
southwest China
How to hold a forest meal
Enlarged wrist bones work like thumbs, helping giant pandas grip and handle bamboo.
The mountain bamboo forest
Giant pandas live mainly in mountain temperate forests of southwest China.
Connected forests matter
Roads, railways and other infrastructure fragment the mountain forests they need.
Sources
Records of where it has been seen come live from GBIF; observed interactions from GloBI. Draft — not yet reviewed by a person.