The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, "black-and-white cat-foot) is a mammal in the bear family Ursidae. They are native to the central-western and southwestern China. It is easily recognized with its very distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears and across the body.

The name "panda" originates with a Himalayan language, possibly Nepali. As used in the West the name was originally applied to the red panda. Until its relation to the red panda was discovered in 1901, the giant panda was known as Mottled Bear (Ailuropus melanoleucus) or Particolored Bear.

The Chinese language name for the giant panda, 大熊貓, literally translates to "large bear cat," or just "bear cat" 熊貓

Most bears' eyes have round pupils. The exception is the giant panda, whose pupils are vertical slits like cats' eyes. These unusual eyes, combined with its ability to effortlessly scale trees, are what inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "large bear cat."

The panda has a diet of 99% bamboo; they may eat other food such as honey, eggs, fish and yams.

The giant panda goes under the category of endangered species and according to latest reports there is 239 giant pandas in captivity by November 2007, 128 of them in Wolong and 67 in Chengdu, with 27 pandas living outside the country. It also estimated that around 1,590 panda are living in the wild.
Though reports show that the numbers of wild pandas are on the rise, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) believes there is not enough certainty to remove pandas from the endangered animal list.

Adults measure around 1.5 m long and around 75 cm tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 115 kg (253 pounds). Females are generally smaller than males, and can occasionally weigh up to 100 kg (220 pounds). It also has a short tail, approximately 15 cm long. Giant Pandas can usually live to be 20-30 years old in captivity. Giant Pandas live in mountainous regions, such as Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Tibet.
The Giant Panda has a paw, with a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which helps the panda to hold bamboo while eating.

Until recently, scientists thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season. Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season.
Like most subtropical mammals, but unlike most bears, the giant panda does not hibernate.

Giant pandas are an endangered species, threatened by continued habitat loss and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity.
Pandas have been a target for poaching by locals since ancient times, and by foreigners since they were introduced to the West. Starting in the 1930s, foreigners were unable to poach 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, demands 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.

Contrary to popular belief, Giant pandas do not reproduce slowly. Studies have shown that wild pandas reproduce as well as North American brown bears. A female panda may have 2-3 cubs in a lifetime, on average. Growth is slow and pandas may not reach sexual maturity until five to seven years of age. The mating season usually takes place from mid-March to mid-May. During this time, two to five males can compete for one female; the male with the highest rank gets the female.

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