The giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is a bear. It lives in south central China.

Although it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda’s diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In captivity, they may get honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.

The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. As a result of farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.

Giant pandas are bears. They have black and white fur all around them. The black fur is on their ears, around their eyes, on their legs, and on their shoulders.

Giant pandas are about the size of an American black bear. They are about 3 feet (91 cm) tall at the shoulder when they are standing on all four legs. They are about 6 ft (180 cm) long. Males weigh up to 251 pounds (114 kg) in the wild. Females usually weigh less than 220 pounds (100 kg).

source : Kidzsearch