Giant Pandas are among the most adorable animals in the world. They are famous not only for their cute appearance but also for the silly things they do. Let’s discover more about this funny creature with eleven interesting facts about Giant Pandas below.

1. The giant Panda is much bigger than your teddy bear.

The giant panda looks cuddly and cute when you search for photos on the internet. However, it’s much bigger than you think. An adult panda weighs more than 45 kilos (100 pounds). This animal can also be about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long!

2. Giant Pandas are good at climbing trees and swim.

Giant Pandas can’t stand and do kung fu like Po in Kung Fu Panda Movie. But, they are good tree climbers. These creatures can climb trees as early as 7 months old. Since Giant Pandas are one kind of bears, they can swim like others.

3. Pandas transform from pink to white and black (or brown).

Newborn Pandas look like baby badgers. They are fur-less, pink, and blind. The iconic black and white color come later, after about three weeks. In addition to that, not all giant pandas are black and white! A few are brown and white, but these are very rare.

4. Pandas have so many fans because they are cute.

This was the subject of a recent BBC1 study by scientist Gordon Buchanan. It is also why almost all of us like pandas. “The appearance of a teddy bear” is what makes these animals so popular.

Pandas appeal to our “cuteness receptors” because of their large, front-facing eyes and extremely furry hair in unique white and black color. For all of that, they seem to be cuddly and cute.

5. Pandas are “lazy” — eating and sleeping make their day.

As mentioned above, all a panda does all day is eating and sleeping. If you want to see pandas when they are active, you had better get up early to visit the zoo.

One reason for pandas being rare is that breeding is not high on their list of priorities. With only a one-day window a year for a female to conceive naturally, it is hardly surprising that pandas are an endangered species.

6. An adult panda can eat 12–38 kilos of bamboo per day.

Giant pandas’ diets are 99% bamboo. A 45-kilo adult (and pandas can reach 150 kg in captivity) spends as long as 14 hours eating. And it can eat 12 to 38 kilos of bamboo a day.

Pandas’ favorite food is bamboo shoots. If you do the Panda Keeper Tour, which I personally highly recommend, you can eat bamboo, although what you eat will be cooked well for you first. (Read more about Panda Keeper Tour below.)

7. A panda Can poop 28 Kilos per day.

Panda’s poop points their direction of movements. Therefore, they can be easily tracked in the wild. Unfortunately, historically this led to their reduction in the number of species. On the other hand, it also aids researchers a lot in protecting them now.

Pandas can poop as much as 28 kilos in one day. In the past, the undigested bamboo pieces in the poop were made into picture frames and bookmarks. Apparently, they did not smell at all.

8. Pandas have carnivorous teeth but they are vegetarian.

Since giant predators like saber-tooth tigers were no longer around, pandas didn’t need to be fast. They turned into vegetarian specialists to avoid becoming extinct. We all know that pandas eat bamboo only, but they do like some fruits such as apples and berries.

Actually, pandas can eat meat, too. One panda park we visited had a photo of a panda devouring a vulture. Although they still have sharp teeth and the digestive tract of carnivores, they don’t have the energy to chase anything. Their prey would virtually have to land in their lap, be injured, or too slow to escape.

9. Panda cubs are born in August.

Pandas are usually born in August because the panda’s mating months are from March to May. Their gestation is from 3 to 5 months. Females mainly produce two offspring, but only the stronger one survives in the wild.

In the research bases in Chengdu, the other baby Panda is hand-reared. They are swapped regularly with the mother so that she can raise two cubs each pregnancy. Some of the money in entrance fees funds this successful project.

10. Pandas have existed for 2 million years.

Fossils of pandas are dated between 1 and 2 million years old. Pandas were once widely distributed across the whole of China. Now they only live in the wild or remote areas of Chinese Tibetan foothills.

11. Pandas have 6 toes to grasp bamboo.

Unlike other bears, Pandas possess a 6th “claw” on the heels of their fore-paws. With their extra “finger”, they can easily the bamboo into fat cigar shapes for efficient eating.

Above are 11 interesting facts about Pandas. We hope you enjoy everything about these cute animals. If you want a panda for your own, collect a Panda pop up card template. This 3d pop up card is also a perfect present for mom, for dad, or for anyone you love on their birthdays or other special occasions.