The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca; Chinese: 大熊猫; pinyin: dà xióng māo),[4] also known as panda bear or simply panda, is a bear[5] native to south central China.[1] It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the distantly related red panda. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet.[6] Giant pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.[7][8]
The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, but also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu.[9] As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.
The giant panda is a conservation-reliant vulnerable species.[10][11] A 2007 report showed 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country.[12] As of December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 different countries.[13] Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild,[12] while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000.[14] Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.[15] In March 2015, conservation news site Mongabay stated that the wild giant panda population had increased by 268, or 16.8%, to 1,864.[16] In 2016, the IUCN reclassified the species from "endangered" to "vulnerable".[11]
While the dragon has often served as China's national symbol, internationally the giant panda has often filled this role. As such, it is becoming widely used within China in international contexts, for example, appearing since 1982 on gold panda bullion coins and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the Beijing Olympics.
Taxonomy
Classification
For many decades, the precise taxonomic classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons.[17] However, molecular studies indicate the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family Ursidae.[5][18] These studies show it differentiated early (about 19 million years ago)[19] from the main ursine stock; since it is the most basal member of the group, it is equidistant from all other extant ursids.[20][19] The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil.[21]
Despite the shared name, habitat type, and diet, as well as a unique enlarged bone called the pseudo thumb (which helps them grip the bamboo shoots they eat) the giant panda and red panda are only distantly related.
Etymology
The word panda was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word panda has been found.[22] The closest candidate is the Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal. The Western world originally applied this name to the red panda.
In many older sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" refers to the lesser-known red panda,[23] thus necessitating the inclusion of "giant" and "lesser/red" prefixes in front of the names. Even in 2013, the Encyclopædia Britannica still used "giant panda" or "panda bear" for the bear,[24] and simply "panda" for the red panda,[25] despite the popular usage of the word "panda" to refer to giant pandas.
Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear 20 different names, such as huāxióng (花熊 "spotted bear") and zhúxióng (竹熊 "bamboo bear").[26] The most popular names in China today is dàxióngmāo (大熊貓 literally "giant bear cat"), or simply xióngmāo (熊貓 "bear cat"). The name xióngmāo (熊貓 "bear cat") was originally used to describe the red panda (Ailurus fulgens), but since the giant panda was thought to be closely related to the red panda, dàxióngmāo (大熊貓) was named relatively.[26]
In Taiwan, another popular name for panda is the inverted dàmāoxióng (大貓熊 "giant cat bear"), though many encyclopediae and dictionaries in Taiwan still use the "bear cat" form as the correct name. Some linguists argue, in this construction, "bear" instead of "cat" is the base noun, making this name more grammatically and logically correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings.[26] This name did not gain its popularity until 1988, when a private zoo in Tainan painted a sun bear black and white and created the Tainan fake panda incident.[27][28]
Subspecies
Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics.[29]
- The nominate subspecies Ailuropoda m. melanoleuca consists of most extant populations of panda. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colours.
- The Qinling panda, A. m. qinlingensis[30] is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m. The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a dark brown versus light brown pattern.[29] The skull of A. m. qinlingensis is smaller than its relatives, and it has larger molars.
A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012[31] confirms that the separation of the Qinlin population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinlin population further diverged into two groups, named the Minshan and the Qionglai-Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.[32]
Description
The giant panda has luxuriant black-and-white fur. Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 m (4 to 6 ft) long, including a tail of about 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in), and 60 to 90 cm (2.0 to 3.0 ft) tall at the shoulder.[33][34] Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb).[35] Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males)[36] can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb).[10][33][37] Average adult weight is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb).[38]
The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, speculation suggests that the bold colouring provides effective camouflage in their shade-dappled snowy and rocky habitat.[39] The giant panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.[39] The panda's skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa.[40][41] A 110.45 kg (243.5 lb) giant panda has a 3D canine teeth bite force of 2603.47 newtons and bite force quotient of 292.[citation needed] Another study had a 117.5 kg (259 lb) giant panda bite of 1298.9 newtons (BFQ 151.4) at canine teeth and 1815.9 newtons (BFQ 141.8) at carnassial teeth.[42]
Behavior
The giant panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in the hilly province of Sichuan.[68] Giant pandas are generally solitary.[52] Each adult has a defined territory and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. Social encounters occur primarily during the brief breeding season in which pandas in proximity to one another will gather.[69] After mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub.[70]
Pandas were thought to fall into the crepuscular category, those who are active twice a day, at dawn and dusk; however, Jindong Zhang found that pandas may belong to a category all of their own, with activity peaks in the morning, afternoon and midnight. Due to their sheer size, pandas do not need to fear predators like other herbivores. They can therefore be active at any time of the day.[71]
Pandas communicate through vocalisation and scent marking such as clawing trees or spraying urine.[10] They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but do not establish permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate, which is similar to other subtropical mammals, and will instead move to elevations with warmer temperatures.[72] Pandas rely primarily on spatial memory rather than visual memory.[73]
Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than aggression
