Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Habitat

Bamboo-rich mountain forests, 1,500–3,000 m above sea level

Conservation status

Vulnerable. The species is at risk from habitat loss due to agriculture and development, and from infection with parasitic roundworms, mainly deriving from domestic animals — now the leading cause of death in wild pandas.

Biology

Pandas are the only bears that are largely herbivorous, feeding almost exclusively on bamboo shoots and leaves. Every few decades, all the bamboo plants in a forest flower and then die simultaneously, so the pandas have to move on. Today, however, it is often difficult for the animals to reach other suitable habitats, as these are widely scattered like oases amidst agricultural deserts and built-up areas.