GIANT PANDA

Table of contents
1. Taxonomy
1.1. Classification
1.2. Etymology
1.3. Subspecies
2. Description
3. Ecology
4. Behavior
4.1. Olfactory communication
4.2. Reproduction
5. Human interactions
5.1. Early references
5.2. Western discovery
5.3. Panda diplomacy
5.5. Conservation
7. References

1. Taxonomy

1.1. 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 in
1985, molecular studies indicate the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family
Ursidae.[18][19] These studies show it diverged about 19 million years ago from the
common ancestor of the Ursidae;[20] it is the most basal member of this family and
equidistant from all other extant bear species.[20][21] The giant panda has been
referred to as a living fossil.[22]
1.2. 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.[23] The closest candidate is the
Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which
is native to Nepal. In many older sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" refers
to the red panda (Ailurus fulgens),[24] which was described some 40 years earlier and
over that period was the only animal known as a panda.[25] This necessitated the use of
"giant" and "lesser/red" prefixes to differentiate the species. Even in 2013, the
Encyclopædia Britannica still used "giant panda" or "panda bear" for the bear,[17] and
simply "panda" for the red panda.[26]

Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear
many different names, including mò ( 貘 , ancient Chinese name for giant panda),[27]
huāxióng ( 花 熊 ; "spotted bear") and zhúxióng ( 竹 熊 ; "bamboo bear").[28] The most
popular names in China today are dàxióngmāo ( 大熊貓; lit. 'giant bear cat'), or simply
xióngmāo (熊貓; lit. 'bear cat'). As with the word panda in English, xióngmāo (熊貓) was
originally used to describe just the red panda, but dàxióngmāo ( 大 熊 貓 ) and
xiǎ oxióngmāo ( 小 熊 猫 ; lit. 'little bear cat') were coined to differentiate between the
species.[28]

In Taiwan, another popular name for panda is the inverted dàmāoxióng ( 大 貓 熊 ;

lit. 'giant cat bear'), though many encyclopedias 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 the name more grammatically and logically
correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings.[28] 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.[29][30]
1.3. Subspecies
Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial
measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics.[31]

 The nominate subspecies, A. m. melanoleuca, consists of most extant populations

of the giant panda. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display
the typical stark black and white contrasting colours.
 The Qinling panda, A. m. qinlingensis,[32] is restricted to the Qinling Mountains
in Shaanxi at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m (4,300–9,800 ft). The typical black
and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and
white pattern.[31] 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[33] 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.[34]
2. Description

Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 metres (3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches) long,
including a tail of about 10–15 cm (4–6 in), and 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the
shoulder.[38][39] Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb).[40] Females (generally 10–
20% smaller than males)[41] can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb), but can also weigh up
to 125 kg (276 lb).[9][38][42] The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254
lb).[43]

The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye
patches, limbs and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white.[44] The bear's
distinctive coat appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer
environments. The white areas may serve as camouflage in snow, while the black
shoulders and legs provide crypsis in shade.[45] Studies in the wild have found that
when viewed from a distance, the panda displays disruptive coloration while close up,
they rely more on blending in.[46] The black ears may signal aggressive intent,[45]
while the eye patches might facilitate them identifying one another.[45][47][48] The
giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.[44] 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.[49][50] A 110.45 kg (243.5 lb) giant panda has a 3D canine teeth bite force of
2603.47 newtons (265kg ) 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.[51]

The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" – actually a modified
sesamoid bone – helps it to hold bamboo while eating.[52] Stephen Jay Gould discusses
this feature in his book of essays on evolution and biology, The Panda's Thumb.

The giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second-longest in the

bear family, behind the sloth bear.[41]

The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in
captivity.[53] A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity; she
was born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016.[54]

3. Diet

Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda's diet is primarily
herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo.[53] However, the giant panda
still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes,[56] and
thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. The ability to
break down cellulose and lignin is very weak, and their main source of nutrients comes
from starch and hemicelluloses. The most important part of their bamboo diet is the
shoots, that are rich in starch and have up to 32% protein content. Accordingly, pandas
have evolved a higher capability to digest starches than strict carnivores.[57] During the
shoot season, which lasts from April to August, they put on a lot of weight, which allows
them to get through the nutrient-scarce period from late August to April, when they feed
mostly on bamboo leaves.[58] Pandas are born with sterile intestines and require
bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation.[citation needed] The
giant panda is a highly specialised animal with unique adaptations, and has lived in
bamboo forests for millions of years.[59]

The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 31 lb) of bamboo shoots a day
to compensate for the limited energy content of its diet. Ingestion of such a large
quantity of material is possible and necessary because of the rapid passage of large
amounts of indigestible plant material through the short, straight digestive tract.[60]
[61] It is also noted, however, that such rapid passage of digesta limits the potential of
microbial digestion in the gastrointestinal tract,[60] limiting alternative forms of
digestion. Given this voluminous diet, the giant panda defecates up to 40 times a day.
[62] The limited energy input imposed on it by its diet has affected the panda's behavior.
The giant panda tends to limit its social interactions and avoids steeply sloping terrain
to limit its energy expenditures.[63]
It has been estimated that an adult panda absorbs 54.8–66.1 mg (0.846–1.020 gr) of
cyanide a day through its diet. To prevent poisoning, they have evolved anti-toxic
mechanisms to protect themselves. About 80% of the cyanide is metabolized to less
toxic thiocyanate and discharged in urine, while the remaining 20% is detoxified by
other minor pathways.[64]

Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and round face, are
adaptations to its bamboo diet. Anthropologist Russell Ciochon observed: "[much] like
the vegetarian gorilla, the low body surface area to body volume [of the giant panda] is
indicative of a lower metabolic rate. This lower metabolic rate and a more sedentary
lifestyle allows the giant panda to subsist on nutrient poor resources such as
bamboo."[63] Similarly, the giant panda's round face is the result of powerful jaw
muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw.[63] Large molars crush and
grind fibrous plant material.

The morphological characteristics of extinct relatives of the giant panda suggest that
while the ancient giant panda was omnivorous 7 million years ago (mya), it only became
herbivorous some 2–2.4 mya with the emergence of A. microta.[33][65] Genome
sequencing of the giant panda suggests that the dietary switch could have initiated from
the loss of the sole umami taste receptor, encoded by the genes TAS1R1 and TAS1R3
(also known as T1R1 and T1R3), resulting from two frameshift mutations within the
T1R1 exons.[56] Umami taste corresponds to high levels of glutamate as found in meat
and may have thus altered the food choice of the giant panda.[66] Although the
pseudogenisation (conversion into a pseudogene) of the umami taste receptor in
Ailuropoda coincides with the dietary switch to herbivory, it is likely a result of, and not
the reason for, the dietary change.[33][56][66] The mutation time for the T1R1 gene in
the giant panda is estimated to 4.2 mya[33] while fossil evidence indicates bamboo
consumption in the giant panda species at least 7 mya,[65] signifying that although
complete herbivory occurred around 2 mya, the dietary switch was initiated prior to
T1R1 loss-of-function.

Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, such as Fargesia dracocephala[67] and
Fargesia rufa.[68] Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes
pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less.
[69]

Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a
species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to
avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly
ursine teeth and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available. In captivity, zoos typically
maintain the giant panda's bamboo diet, though some will provide specially formulated
biscuits or other dietary supplements.[70]

Pandas will travel between different habitats if they need to, so they can get the
nutrients that they need and to balance their diet for reproduction. For six years,
scientists studied six pandas tagged with GPS collars at the Foping Reserve in the
Qinling Mountains. They took note of their foraging and mating habits and analyzed
samples of their food and feces. The pandas would move from the valleys into the
Qinling Mountains and would only return to the valleys in autumn. During the summer
months, bamboo shoots rich in protein are only available at higher altitudes which
causes low calcium rates in the pandas. During breeding season, the pandas would
return to lower altitudes to eat bamboo leaves rich in calcium.[71]

4. Behavior

4.1. Olfactory communication

Giant pandas heavily rely on olfactory communication to communicate with one
another. Scent marks are used to spread these chemical cues and are placed on
landmarks like rocks or trees.[85] Chemical communication in giant pandas plays many
roles in their social situations. Scent marks and odors are used to spread information
about sexual status, whether a female is in estrus or not, age, gender, individuality,
dominance over territory, and choice of settlement.[85]

Giant pandas communicate by excreting volatile compounds, or scent marks, through

the anogenital gland.[85] These volatile compounds are found in urine and vaginal and
anal secretions from the anogenital gland.[85] The anogenital gland secretes short chain
fatty acids (SCFA) and aromatics, which are present in the scent marks of giant pandas.
[85][86] Giant pandas have unique positions in which they will scent mark. Males
deposit scent marks or urine by lifting their hind leg, rubbing their backside, or standing
in order to rub the anogenital gland onto a landmark. Females, however, exercise
squatting or simply rubbing their genitals onto a landmark.[85][87]

The season plays a major role in mediating chemical communication.[88] Depending on

the season, mainly whether it is breeding season or not, may influence which odors are
prioritized. Chemical signals can have different functions in different seasons. During
the non-breeding season, females prefer the odors of other females because
reproduction is not their primary motivation. However, during breeding season, odors
from the opposite sex will be more attractive.[88][89]

Because they are solitary mammals and their breeding season is so brief, female pandas
secrete chemical cues in order to let males know their sexual status.[89] The chemical
cues female pandas secrete can be considered to be pheromones for sexual
reproduction.[89] Females deposit scent marks through their urine which induces an
increase in androgen levels in males.[89] Androgen is a sex hormone found in both
males and females; testosterone is the major androgen produced by males. Civetone and
decanoic acid are chemicals found in female urine which promote behavioral responses
in males; both chemicals are considered giant panda pheromones.[89] Male pandas also
secrete chemical signals that include information about their sexual reproductivity and
age, which is beneficial for a female when choosing a mate.[85][88] For example, age
can be useful for a female to determine sexual maturity and sperm quality.[90] Pandas
are also able to determine when the signal was placed, further aiding in the quest to find
a potential mate.[90] However, chemical cues are not just used for communication
between males and females, pandas can determine individuality from chemical signals.
This allows them to be able to differentiate between a potential partner or someone of
the same sex, which could be a potential competitor.[90]

Chemical cues, or odors, play an important role in how a panda chooses their habitat.
Pandas look for odors that tell them not only the identity of another panda, but if they
should avoid them or not.[90] Pandas tend to avoid their species for most of the year,
breeding season being the brief time of major interaction.[90] Chemical signaling allows
for avoidance and competition.[87][88] Pandas whose habitats are in similar locations
will collectively leave scent marks in a unique location which is termed "scent
stations."[90] When pandas come across these scent stations, they are able to identify a
specific panda and the scope of their habitat. This allows pandas to be able to pursue a
potential mate or avoid a potential competitor.[90]

Pandas can assess an individual's dominance status, including their age and size, via
odor cues and may choose to avoid a scent mark if the signaler's competitive ability
outweighs their own.[87] A pandas size can be conveyed through the height of the scent
mark.[87][91] Since larger animals can place higher scent marks, an elevated scent mark
advertises a higher competitive ability. Age must also be taken into consideration when
assessing a competitor's fighting ability. For example, a mature panda will be larger than
a younger, immature panda and possess an advantage during a fight.[87]
4.2. Reproduction
Initially, the primary method of breeding giant pandas in captivity was by artificial
insemination, as they seemed to lose their interest in mating once they were captured.
[93] This led some scientists to try extreme methods, such as showing them videos of
giant pandas mating[94] and giving the males sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra).
[95] Only recently have researchers started having success with captive breeding
programs, and they have now determined giant pandas have comparable breeding to
some populations of the American black bear, a thriving bear species. The normal
reproductive rate is considered to be one young every two years.[14][74]

Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between the ages of four and eight, and may be
reproductive until age 20.[96] The mating season is between March and May, when a
female goes into estrus, which lasts for two or three days and only occurs once a year.
[97] When mating, the female is in a crouching, head-down position as the male mounts
her from behind. Copulation time ranges from 30 seconds to five minutes, but the male
may mount her repeatedly to ensure successful fertilisation. The gestation period is
somewhere between 95 and 160 days - the variability is due to the fact that the fertilized
egg may linger in the reproductive system for a while before implanting on the uterine
wall.[97]

Giant pandas give birth to twins in about half of pregnancies.[98] If twins are born,
usually only one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and
the weaker cub will die due to starvation. The mother is thought to be unable to produce
enough milk for two cubs since she does not store fat.[99] The father has no part in
helping raise the cub.
or about 1/800 of the mother's weight,[17] proportionally the smallest baby of any
placental mammal.[101] It nurses from its mother's breast six to 14 times a day for up to
30 minutes at a time. For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed,
which leaves the cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns grey
where its hair will eventually become black. Slight pink colour may appear on the cub's
fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. A month
after birth, the colour pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. Its fur is very soft and
coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days;[17] mothers play with their
cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo
after six months,[102] though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most
of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year and live with
their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old. The interval between births in
the wild is generally two years.

In July 2009, Chinese scientists confirmed the birth of the first cub to be successfully
conceived through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.[103] The cub was born at
07:41 on 23 July that year in Sichuan as the third cub of You You, an 11-year-old.[103]
[104][105] The technique for freezing the sperm in liquid nitrogen was first developed in
1980 and the first birth was hailed as a solution to the dwindling availability of giant
panda semen, which had led to inbreeding.[105][106] Panda semen, which can be
frozen for decades, could be shared between different zoos to save the species.[103][104]
It is expected that zoos in destinations such as San Diego in the United States and
Mexico City will now be able to provide their own semen to inseminate more giant
pandas.[106] In August 2014, a rare birth of panda triplets was announced in China; it
was the fourth of such births ever reported.[107]

Attempts have also been made to reproduce giant pandas by interspecific pregnancy
where cloned panda embryos were implanted into the uterus of an animal of another
species. This has resulted in panda fetuses, but no live births.[108]

5. Human interactions

5.1. Early references

In the past, pandas were thought to be rare and noble creatures – the Empress Dowager
Bo was buried with a panda skull in her vault. The grandson of Emperor Taizong of
Tang is said to have given Japan two pandas and a sheet of panda skin as a sign of
goodwill. Unlike many other animals in Ancient China, pandas were rarely thought to
have medical uses. The few known uses include the Sichuan tribal peoples' use of panda
urine to melt accidentally swallowed needles, and the use of panda pelts to control
menstruation as described in the Qin dynasty encyclopedia Erya.[109]

The creature named mo (貘) mentioned in some ancient books has been interpreted as
giant panda.[109] The dictionary Shuowen Jiezi (Eastern Han Dynasty) says that the
mo, from Shu (Sichuan), is bear-like, but yellow-and-black,[110] although the older Erya
describes mo simply as a "white leopard".[111] The interpretation of the legendary fierce
creature pixiu (貔貅) as referring to the giant panda is also common.[112]
During the reign of the Yongle Emperor (early 15th century), his relative from Kaifeng
sent him a captured zouyu (騶虞), and another zouyu was sighted in Shandong. Zouyu is
a legendary "righteous" animal, which, similarly to a qilin, only appears during the rule
of a benevolent and sincere monarch. It is said to be fierce as a tiger, but gentle and
strictly vegetarian, and described in some books as a white tiger with black spots.
Puzzled about the real zoological identity of the creature captured during the Yongle era,
Dutch Sinologist J. J. L. Duyvendak exclaimed, "Can it possibly have been a
Pandah?"[113]
5.2. Western discovery
The West first learned of the giant panda on 11 March 1869, when the French
missionary Armand David[17] received a skin from a hunter. The first Westerner known
to have seen a living giant panda is the German zoologist Hugo Weigold, who purchased
a cub in 1916. Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., became the first Westerners to shoot
a panda, on an expedition funded by the Field Museum of Natural History in the 1920s.
In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner to bring back a live giant panda, a
cub named Su Lin[114] who went to live at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. In 1938, Floyd
Tangier Smith captured and delivered five giant pandas to London, they arrived on 23
December aboard the SS Antenor.[115][116] These five were the first on British soil and
were transferred to London Zoo.[117] One, named Grandma, only lasted a few days. She
was taxidermized by E. Gerrard and Sons and sold to Leeds City Museum where she is
currently on display to the public. Another, Ming, became London Zoo's first Giant
Panda. Her skull is held by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.[118]
5.3. Panda diplomacy
In the 1970s, gifts of giant pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important
part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China (PRC), as it marked some of the
first cultural exchanges between China and the West. This practice has been termed
"panda diplomacy".[119]

By 1984, however, pandas were no longer given as gifts. Instead, China began to offer
pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans for a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year
and with the provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of China. As
a result of this change in policy, nearly all the pandas in the world are owned by China,
and pandas leased to foreign zoos and all cubs are eventually returned to China.[120]
[121] Since 1998, because of a WWF lawsuit, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
only allows US zoos to import a panda if the zoo can ensure China channels more than
half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for giant pandas and their habitat.[122][123]

In May 2005, China offered a breeding pair to Taiwan. The issue became embroiled in
cross-Strait relations – due to both the underlying symbolism and technical issues such
as whether the transfer would be considered "domestic" or "international" or whether
any true conservation purpose would be served by the exchange.[124] A contest in 2006
to name the pandas was held in the mainland, resulting in the politically charged names
Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan (from simplified Chinese: 团圆; traditional Chinese: 團圓;
pinyin: tuanyuan; lit. 'reunion', implying reunification). China's offer was initially
rejected by Chen Shui-bian, then President of Taiwan. However, when Ma Ying-jeou
assumed the presidency in 2008, the offer was accepted and the pandas arrived in
December of that year.[125]
5.5. Conservation
The giant panda is a vulnerable species, threatened by continued habitat loss and
habitat fragmentation,[130] and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in
captivity.[53] Its range is currently confined to a small portion on the western edge of its
historical range, which stretched through southern and eastern China, northern
Myanmar, and northern Vietnam.[1]

The giant panda has been a target of poaching by locals since ancient times and by
foreigners since it was introduced to the West. Starting in the 1930s, foreigners were
unable to poach giant pandas in China because of the Second Sino-Japanese War and
the Chinese Civil War, but pandas remained a source of soft furs for the locals. The
population boom in China after 1949 created stress on the pandas' habitat and the
subsequent famines led to the increased hunting of wildlife, including pandas. During
the Cultural Revolution, all studies and conservation activities on the pandas were
stopped. After the Chinese economic reform, demand for panda skins from Hong Kong
and Japan led to illegal poaching for the black market, acts generally ignored by the
local officials at the time.

Closeup of a seven-month-old panda cub

In 1963, the PRC government set up Wolong National Nature Reserve to save the
declining panda population.[131]

In 2006, scientists reported that the number of pandas living in the wild may have been
underestimated at about 1,000. Previous population surveys had used conventional
methods to estimate the size of the wild panda population, but using a new method that
analyzes DNA from panda droppings, scientists believe the wild population may be as
large as 3,000.[53] In 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13
reserves in 1998.[13] As the species has been reclassified to "vulnerable" since 2016, the
conservation efforts are thought to be working. Furthermore, in response to this
reclassification, the State Forestry Administration of China announced that they would
not accordingly lower the conservation level for panda, and would instead reinforce the
conservation efforts.[132]

The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is
one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO
World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the
southwest province of Sichuan and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto
the World Heritage List in 2006.[133][134][135]

Not all conservationists agree that the money spent on conserving pandas is well spent.
Chris Packham has argued that the breeding of pandas in captivity is "pointless" because
"there is not enough habitat left to sustain them".[136] Packham argues that the money
spent on pandas would be better spent elsewhere,[136] and has said he would "eat the
last panda if I could have all the money we have spent on panda conservation put back
on the table for me to do more sensible things with". He also quoted, "The panda is
possibly one of the grossest wastes of conservation money in the last half century",[137]
though he has apologised for upsetting people who like pandas.[138] However, a 2015
paper found that the giant panda can serve as an umbrella species as the preservation of
their habitat also helps other endemic species in China, including 70% of the country's
forest birds, 70% of mammals and 31% of amphibians.[139]

In 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global nonprofit that teams volunteers with scientists to
conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "On the Trail of
Giant Panda". This program, based in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, allows
volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity, and help them adapt to
life in the wild, so that they may breed, and live longer and healthier lives.[140] Efforts
to preserve the panda bear populations in China have come at the expense of other
animals in the region, including snow leopards, wolves, and dholes.[141]

In order to improve living and mating conditions for the fragmented populations of
pandas, nearly 70 natural reserves have been combined to form the Giant Panda
National Park in 2020. With a size of 10,500 square miles, the park is roughly three
times as large as Yellowstone National Park and incorporates the Wolong National
Nature Reserve. The state-owned Bank of China helped to enable the project with
US$1.5 billion. One major aim is to permanently keep the panda population stable
enough to avoid a relapse to its former IUCN Red List "endangered" status. Especially
small, isolated populations run the risk of inbreeding and smaller genetic variety makes
the individuals more vulnerable to various defects and genetic mutation. Allowing a
larger group of individuals to roam through a larger area freely and choose from a
greater variety of mates, helps to enrich genetic diversity of their offspring.[142]

In 2020, the panda population of the new national park was already above 1,800
individuals, which is roughly 80 percent of the entire panda population in China.
Establishing the new protected area in the Sichuan Province also gives various other
endangered or threatened species, like the Siberian tiger, the possibility to improve their
living conditions by offering them a habitat.[143] Other species who benefit from the
protection of their habitat include the snow leopard, the golden snub-nosed monkey, the
red panda and the complex-toothed flying squirrel.

In July 2021, Chinese conservation authorities announced that giant pandas are no
longer endangered in the wild following years of conservation efforts, with a population
in the wild exceeding 1,800.[144][145] China has received international praise for its
conservation of the species, which has also helped the country establish itself as a leader
in endangered species conservation.[146]: 8
7. References

1. Swaisgood, R.; Wang, D. & Wei, F. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Ailuropoda
melanoleuca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T712A121745669.
Retrieved 15 January 2022.
2. ^ David, A. (1869). "Voyage en Chine". Bulletin des Nouvelles Archives du Muséum. 5: 13.
3. ^ Like the English "giant", the term dà ("large") is technically prefixed to the name "panda" in
Chinese, but is not generally in everyday use.
4. ^ Scheff, Duncan (2002). Giant Pandas. Animals of the rain forest (illustrated ed.).
Heinemann-Raintree Library. p. 7. ISBN 0-7398-5529-8.
5. ^ Quote: "Bamboo forms 99 percent of a panda's diet", "more than 99 percent of their diet is
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