Is the Giant

Panda
endangered or
threatened?
The giant panda is listed as
endangered in the World
Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red
List of Threatened Animals. There
are about 1,600 left in the wild.

What is the location

of the Giant Panda?
Giant pandas live in broadleaf and
coniferous forests with a dense understory
of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and
10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist
throughout the year characterizes these
forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.
More than 160 pandas live in zoos and
breeding centers around the world, mostly
in China.
 In which biome
is it found?
Giant pandas live in the
broadleaf and coniferous forests
with a dense understory of bamboo,
at elevations between 5,000 and
10,000 feet. Torrential rains or
dense mist throughout the year
characterizes these forests, often
shrouded in heavy clouds.
They have a small territory of
only 1.5-2.5 square miles.
 What role does
the Giant Panda
play in its
ecosystem?
Giant panda population is
closely tied to bamboo abundance
and vice versa. Pandas help to
distribute the bamboo seeds over
areas. However, as panda numbers
dwindle so does bamboo, making it
harder to find food for the panda.
It also controls the
overgrowth of bamboo. Since the
giant panda only digests about
20% of the dry matter they ingest,
it eats anywhere from 12-38 kg of
bamboo shoots per day.
 What are the characteristics of this
species that have put it at risk?
The Giant Panda relies on one food source, thus isolating its habitat to small,
specific areas. In prior times, it would migrate to areas with a greater bamboo supply;
however, human involvement has stunted such movement.
Additionally, the Giant Panda has a low reproduction rate. It is typically a solitary
animal, aside from the spring mating season. To make matters worse, Giant Panda
only breed every other year. Mothers typically give birth to one or two cubs at a time.
Yet, in the wild, without human intervention will only care for one of their young.

What role have humans had in the

decline of the Giant Panda?
The major factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation — the most
pressing threats to the giant panda — are:
○ conversion of forests to agricultural areas

○ medicinal herb collection

○ bamboo harvesting
○ poaching
○ large-scale development activities ( such as road construction,
hydropower development, and mining.
 Were these
actions
purposeful, or
were they
inadvertent? Do
some humans
benefit from the
decline, and how?
The destruction of the natural
habitat of the Giant Panda was not
technically purposeful, but rather
ignorant. Developers dismissed the
importance of the bamboo to the Giant
Panda, and essentially the Giant Panda
as a species. As can be expected,
humans benefit from this annihilation via
new homes, roads, and amenities.
Poaching certainly is purposeful and
intentional. The anti-poaching
regulations and limited populations have
merely increased the value of a Giant
Panda on the black market.
 What is being done to protect and
restore this species?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service added the Giant Panda to their Endangered List
in 1984. The IUCN (The World Conservation Union) had Panda's on their Red List in
both 1986 and 1988 but classed as "Rare" and not "Endangered". The ICUN changed
the Pandas classification to "Endangered" in 1990.
The WWF has stimulated restoration solutions such as:
○ increasing nature reserves,
○ creating green corridors to link isolated pandas,
○ patrolling against poaching and illegal logging,
○ building local capacities for nature reserve management, and
○ continued research and monitoring.
The People’s Republic of China has also instated strict legal consequences for
any harm caused to the Giant Panda.