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giant panda
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giant panda Geographic ranges of living species of bears giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) giant panda panda sleeping giant panda cub (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) feeding in a bamboo forest, Szechwan province, China. Panda logo for the Switzerland-based World Wildlife Fund (World Wide Fund for Nature).
View a discussion on efforts to save the endangered giant panda at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.
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Giant panda
panda summary
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giant panda: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

George B. Schaller et al., The Giant Pandas of Wolong (1985), written with the help of Chinese researchers, is the first account of panda biology and continues to be the single most comprehensive source of information on the species.

Secrets of the Wild Panda (1994), produced for the National Geographic Society by Mark Stauffer, Adrian Warren, and Nicholas Noxon, is a video documentary of pandas in their natural habitat along with the biologists who are studying them to ensure their survival.

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Donald G. Lindburg
    Head, Office of Giant Panda Conservation, Zoological Society of San Diego, California, U.S. Coordinator, American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Giant Panda Species Survival Plan.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: Cell Press - Current Biology - Giant Pandas Are Macronutritional Carnivores (PDF). Dec 17, 2024
Add new Web site: Nature - Scientific Reports - The giant panda is cryptic. Jul 24, 2024
Add new Web site: Young People's Trust For the Environment - Panda (Giant). May 08, 2024
Updated the description of the coloration of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Nov 10, 2023
Add new Web site: A-Z Animals - Giant Panda Bear. Jul 06, 2023
Add new Web site: Live Science - Giant Pandas: Facts About the Charismatic Black and White Bears. Mar 29, 2023
Added a map of the geographic ranges of living bears. Sep 27, 2022
Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Animals - Giant Panda. May 20, 2019
Added cross-references. Apr 20, 2018
Changed number of pandas in the wild from "fewer than 2,000" to "fewer than 1,900." Mar 27, 2018
Corrected display issue. Feb 23, 2018
In reference to Armand David's religious order, changed "Jesuit" to "Vincentian." Oct 18, 2016
Conservation status of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) updated. Sep 06, 2016
Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Giant Panda Facts. Mar 16, 2012
Added photograph. Aug 16, 2011
Added photographs. Aug 12, 2011
Geologic time data updated. Sep 15, 2009
New text added indicating that less than 2,500 mature giant pandas remain in the wild according to the IUCN Red List. Jul 15, 2009
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Animals - Giant Panda. Sep 03, 2008
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Panda Bear. Mar 26, 2008
Added new Web site: Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute - Giant panda. Mar 26, 2008
Added new Web site: San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants - Giant Panda. Mar 26, 2008
Media added. Nov 19, 2007
Article revised and updated. May 07, 2007
Article revised. Jul 22, 2005
Article revised. Jul 16, 2004
Article added to new online database. May 27, 1999
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