Panda Facts for Kids

18 Panda Facts For Kids

1. The giant panda is a large mammal that is a member of the Ursidae family.
2. The giant panda is also called the panda bear or simply panda.
3. The binomial name for the giant panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca.
4. The giant panda is the only living species in the Ailuropoda genus.
5. French zoologist Armand David first scientifically described the giant panda in 1869.
6. There are estimates that claim there are around ~1,800 giant pandas living in the wild.
7. Their small population and remote habitat make the giant panda one of the rarest mammals on our planet.
8. You can identify a giant panda by its bearlike rotund body and its black-and-white fur coat.
9. The habitat range for the giant panda is quite small and only includes a few mountain ranges inside China, Asia.
10. The giant panda is herbivorous and is also classified as a folivore due to its diet of leaves.
11. The diet of the giant panda consists almost entirely of bamboo leaves and shoots.
12. Occasionally, giant pandas will eat grass, but bamboo shoots and leaves make up 99% of their diet.
13. The giant panda needs to eat around 15% of its body weight in bamboo each day to stay healthy.
14. Some estimates claim the giant panda will spend between 10 and 16 hours a day eating.
15. The average weight range of an adult giant panda is between 220 and 254 pounds.
16. The average lifespan of a giant panda is between 15 and 20 years in the wild.
17. Despite their awkward shape and heavier weight giant pandas are excellent climbers.
18. Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois was the first American zoo to receive a giant panda in 1936.

Panda Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on pandas. Below are three pictures of various panda species. These pictures should help you better understand what a panda looks like

A picture of the giant panda (ailuropoda melanoleuca).

A picture of a panda in a tree.

A picture of a diagram of a panda skeleton..