The Giant Panda is the rarest bear in the world. Because of its rarity, it is considered an endangered species and humans are making their fragile populations even more threatened.

The problem of diminishing population is threefold: a habitat being rapidly depleted, a limited diet that does not allow for relocation, and a poor rate of reproduction with high infant mortality even after the occasional birth.

Habitat

The only place that is home to the Giant Panda is the mountainous slopes of Asia, namely Western China and Eastern Tibet.

China is one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world and in order to sustain that growth, the forest environment where Giant Pandas exist is being lost due to infrastructure development.

Although there are protected areas set aside for the Giant Panda, poaching occurs, further threatening the mammal’s habitat. Because they are very solitary creatures, there is generally one panda found per square mile of wilderness.

One thing that makes it difficult to relocate or even keep the Giant Panda in captivity is its voracious appetite for bamboo. Pandas eat almost constantly. As their habitat decreases, so do the sources for their life-sustaining bamboo shoots. They will occasionally eat fish and rodents but by far bamboo is their preferred food.

Reproduction

Giant Pandas are not good at reproduction in the wild and it is even more difficult to produce offspring in captivity. Great strides are being made, however, in the effort to boost the panda’s population.

Much of the focus on helping the Giant Panda reproduce in captivity began in the United States in the 1970s. It was then that President Richard Nixon was gifted with a pair of Giant Pandas from the Chinese government. The duo, named Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, found a new home at the Washington Zoo. Although the pandas mated and produce three sets of twins in the 1980s, none of them survived.

As mentioned above, the Giant Panda has a low reproductive rate, even in its natural environment. Part of the problem is a very short 24 to 48 hour breeding period.

Currently, both the United States and Chinese governments are working to develop a way to artificially inseminate female Giant Pandas in captivity.

Between a loss of habitat and the inability to regularly reproduce new offspring, the Giant Panda’s numbers are rapidly dwindling. There is little that can be done other than to preserve their natural environment rich with bamboo plants and to figure out a way to aid their breeding efforts and help cubs survive.

Find out more about the conservation efforts to save the giant panda.