Giant pandas, with the scientific name Ailuropoda melanoleuca, are big mammals that live an average of 20 years in the wild. They are also called panda bears or just pandas. They are endemic to China, which means that they are only found naturally in that region. Pandas are easily recognized by their black-and-white fur and their round bodies. Pandas are folivores, which means that most of their diet (99% of it) makes leaves. Pandas eat mostly bamboo shoots and leaves. In the wild, pandas also sometimes eat other grasses, wild tubers, or sometimes even meat. In captivity, they also sometimes get honey, eggs, fish, yams, oranges, and so on.
Wild pandas are found in central China, mainly in Sichuan and also in Shaanxi and Gansu. Because of farming, deforestation, and other development, such as dams, roads, and railways. The Giant Panda has been displaced from lowland areas where it used to live and is a conservation-reliant, vulnerable species. Conservation-reliant means that the animal or plant needs continued control of its habitat, because otherwise they wouldn’t survive even when the self-sustainable population size is achieved. By 2007, there were only 239 pandas living in captivity in China, and 27 lived in other countries. Now there are approximately 1800 pandas in the wild. There are also around 65 pandas who live in other countries. It is called panda diplomacy. It first started with the Tang Dynasty (618–907), when they gifted pandas to other countries. By the year 1984, the pandas were not gifted any more. They were loaned for 10 years, and this period could be extended. For this loan, the countries have to pay around $1 million per year.
The giant panda has been China’s national symbol, and since 1982, it has been featured on China’s gold coins. The giant panda was also one of the five Fuwa mascots at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The giant panda is also a symbol of WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, since its founding in 1961.

The biodiversity of giant panda habitats is unique in the tropical world and rivals that of tropical ecosystems, making the panda an excellent example of an umbrella species that provides protection for the other species there. So that means that if we protect pandas, we also protect other animals. For example, by protecting panda habitats, we also protect multicoloured pheasants, golden eagles, takins, and crested newts. Pandas also provide sustainable economic benefits to many local communities through ecotourism.

Pandas biggest threat used to be the loss of habitat. Nowadays, they live only in 1% of their historical range. Several protection programs have been successful, so their population in the wild has grown a little. However, this progress may be completely offset by our continuously warming planet. New studies show that by the end of the century, panda habitats will be gone.
Climate change threatens the panda’s main food, bamboo. Scientists have found that the existing bamboo habitat will soon become unsuitable for bamboo to survive, and it is estimated that bamboo will become completely extinct within 50 to 100 years. Bamboo grows only when the summer temperatures are between 9°C and 17°C and the rainfall is 900 to 1200 mm per year. Because of global warming, both of them are going up. Without bamboo, the giant panda will starve. This doesn’t mean that bamboo will become extinct. It means that bamboo will grow in places where pandas don’t live.

Scientists have come up with studies to determine species vulnerability. With this study, scientists can identify what biological traits and other factors make species vulnerable. Vulnerability levels are high, medium, low, or unknown. Giant pandas are highly sensitive to climate change because of their population size. The most recent studies say that there are 1864 pandas, and they are divided into 33 subpopulations. The other issue with pandas is that they are highly sensitive when it comes to reproduction. Pandas ovulate once a year for 2 to 3 days in the spring. Reproduction is also affected by nutrient availability, because pandas can pause embryonic development when there is not enough food. Their reproductive rate is also low. Female pandas usually give birth to one or two cubs, but they raise only one. In their lifetime, pandas are able to successfully raise 5 to 8 cubs.

Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/giant-panda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda
https://www.edf.org/blog/2015/02/04/giant-pandas-face-greatest-threat-yet-hotter-world
https://www.science.org/content/article/scienceshot-warming-world-shrinking-panda-habitats
https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/5r7vjmt9eq_WWF_Giant_Panda_climate_assessment_web.pdf
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/3/what-is-panda-diplomacy-and-why-are-the-bears-going-back-to