What do pandas eat?
Giant pandas eat almost nothing but bamboo, which makes up about 99 percent of their diet. An adult can eat 12 to 38 kilograms of bamboo a day.
Pandas spend up to 14 hours a day eating. Bamboo is low in nutrients, so they must eat large amounts. They use a special enlarged wrist bone, often called a pseudo-thumb, to grip the stalks while they chew with strong jaws and large back teeth.
Surprisingly, pandas have the digestive system of a meat-eater, and they digest only a small part of the bamboo they eat. In the wild, they occasionally eat small animals, eggs or carrion. In zoos, they also get special biscuits, fruit and vegetables.
Saving the giant panda
Wild pandas live only in mountain forests of central China. Thanks to forest protection and breeding programs, their numbers have grown, and in 2016 their status improved from Endangered to Vulnerable.
Did You Know?
The red panda, despite its name, is not closely related to the giant panda. It is a smaller, raccoon-like animal that also eats bamboo.