Panda” and “Panda bear” redirect black bear meat. For the red panda, see red panda.
It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, but also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. While the dragon has often served as China’s national symbol, internationally the giant panda has often filled this role. For many decades, the precise taxonomic classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons. The word panda was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word panda has been found. The closest candidate is the Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal.
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 this name more grammatically and logically correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings. Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colours. The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and white pattern. 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. The bear’s distinctive coat appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments. The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity, born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016. A seven-year-old female named Jin Yi died in 2014 in a zoo in Zhengzhou, China, after showing symptoms of gastroenteritis and respiratory disease. The giant panda genome was sequenced in 2009 using Illumina dye sequencing. Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda’s diet is primarily herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo.