30 Fun Facts About Pandas for Kids

Giant pandas are black-and-white bears that live in the mountain forests of central China. They spend most of their day eating bamboo, and a newborn cub is smaller than a stick of butter. Here are 30 fun facts about pandas for kids, grouped by topic so you can read a few at a time.

When you finish, color your own panda from our cute coloring pages and see how many black and white patches you can get just right.

Panda basics

1. Giant pandas are bears. They belong to the bear family, even though they look very different from a grizzly or a polar bear.
2. Their home is in China. Wild giant pandas live in a few mountain areas in central China, in provinces such as Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
3. Adult pandas weigh about 100 kilograms. That is roughly 220 pounds, and males are usually bigger than females.
4. Pandas are good climbers. They climb trees to rest or to get away from danger.
5. Pandas can swim. They are strong swimmers when they need to be.
6. The name means "giant bear cat." That is roughly what the Chinese name for the panda says.
7. Red pandas are not close relatives. The red panda is a different animal, even though it shares part of its name.

Bamboo eaters

8. Bamboo is almost all of a panda's diet. It makes up the vast majority of what a wild giant panda eats.
9. Pandas eat for most of the day. An adult can spend 10 to 16 hours a day chewing bamboo.
10. They eat a lot. An adult might eat somewhere around 12 to 38 kilograms (about 26 to 84 pounds) of bamboo a day, depending on which parts they eat.
11. Pandas have a "false thumb." It is really an enlarged wrist bone, and it helps them hold bamboo stalks.
12. Their jaws and teeth are made for chewing. Big, flat back teeth and strong cheek muscles help crush tough plants.
13. Pandas have a meat-eater's digestion. Their bodies are still built like those of other bears, so they get only some of the energy from bamboo, which is why they eat so much.
14. They sometimes eat other foods. Pandas will occasionally eat small animals or eggs, but it's a small part of their diet.

Panda cubs

15. Newborn pandas are tiny. A cub weighs only about 100 grams (3 to 4 ounces) at birth, which is far smaller than its mother.
16. They are born pink and almost hairless. A thin layer of white fur grows in soon afterward.
17. Their eyes open after several weeks. Cubs can't see at all when they are born.
18. The black patches show up later. Cubs start out white and the dark patches become clear over the first weeks.
19. A mother usually takes care of one cub at a time. Twins are sometimes born, but it is hard for a mother to raise both.
20. Cubs stay with their mothers for a long time. Many stay for a year and a half or more before heading off on their own.
21. Panda cubs love to play. They tumble, roll and climb on their mothers and on trees.

Panda habits

22. Wild pandas are mostly loners. Each panda has its own area and spends most of its time alone.
23. Pandas communicate with sounds and smells. They bleat, honk and chirp, and they leave scent marks on trees and rocks.
24. They don't hibernate. Pandas stay active through the winter, but may move to lower mountain areas to find food.
25. Their black-and-white pattern may have jobs. Scientists have proposed that it helps with hiding, with sending signals to other pandas, or both. It's still being studied.
26. Pandas sit upright to eat. They often sit up with their back against a tree and hold the bamboo with their front paws.

Panda protection

27. Wild panda numbers are small but growing. A national survey in 2014 counted a little over 1,800 wild giant pandas, and numbers have been described as rising since.
28. Conservation has helped. In 2016, the panda's status was improved from "endangered" to "vulnerable."
29. Pandas still need protected forests. Their main problem is losing the bamboo forests where they live.
30. Pandas are loved around the world. Zoos that take part in research and breeding programs help scientists learn how to protect them.

Panda coloring ideas

• Pandas are a fun starter animal for coloring because the shapes are clear. Use a black marker or crayon for the patches and leave the white areas bare. If your marker bleeds, see our guide to best markers for coloring.
• Add green bamboo with shades from what colors make green.
• Try kawaii-style and cute animals, then compare with a real-life panda photo. Notice how many details change.