Way of life

Habitat

Pandas must live in habitats with plenty of bamboo forest to feed from. In addition to high volumes of bamboo, they must also have more than one species of bamboo to survive.

In their natural range, most bears live in mountainous regions or valleys. They will also move to various habitats to follow the growth of bamboo shoots, because leaves are much more nutritious, and grow at different altitudes in different seasons.

Diet

Unlike other bears, and other animals in the taxonomic order Carnivora, pandas are primarily herbivores. The vast majority of their diet consists of bamboo. Because it is so low in nutritional value, they must eat lots of bamboo to avoid starvation.

They will feed on 25 different species of bamboo, and prefer to eat leaves rather than stems. Pandas do, however, feed on fish, meat, or eggs when they are easily accessible.

Panda Bear and Human Interaction

The primary dangers to panda survival are habitat loss, poaching, and fragmented populations. Hunting of these bears has occurred for hundreds of years, primarily because their fur is so soft and strikingly colored.

As human populations increased, people began to develop more and more land. This reduced the usable habitat for pandas, causing additional decline. Conservation efforts were poorly conducted until the 1990s, and to this day pandas are still threatened with extinction. The IUCN Red List classifies pandas as Vulnerable.

Does the Panda Bear Make a Good Pet

No, pandas do not make good pets. Even though they are herbivores, they still have carnivore teeth and carnivore jaws. If angered, they could easily injure or kill. Additionally, it is highly illegal to own a panda as a pet.