10 Interesting Facts about Giant Pandas

Earlier this year, we were thrilled to hear that Giant Pandas had been moved off the endangered species list, due to intensified conservation efforts. The total population is now estimated at 1,864, which has moved them from endangered to vulnerable.

Probably some of the best news in 2016, don’t you think? We’re celebrating by sharing these 10 top facts about China’s most famous (and adorable) animal.

1. Pandas must eat between 26-84 pounds of bamboo each day! To put that into perspective, an average human will eat about 26 pounds of food in five days… yikes, Giant Panda’s are eating machines!
2. Giant Panda’s are the national animal of China and the logo for the World Wide Fund for Nature. 
3. They spend 2 thirds of their day feeding and the remainder resting. Well, that’s not so hard to believe. We would too if it were socially acceptable.
4. Female Giant Panda’s are only able to become pregnant for 2 or 3 days every spring. This is part of the reason they are vulnerable to extinction. Perhaps we should start a Giant Panda dating app?
5. The extra digit on a Panda’s hand helps them to tear bamboo. They also have a thick layer of mucus in their stomachs to protect against splinters during consumption. We certainly won’t be taking a Giant Panda on in a fight anytime soon!
6. Young Pandas are sadly targets for predators such as Jackals and Snow Leopards. However, those predators are no match for Giant Panda’s size, claws and excellent swimming and climbing ability. You would hope they’d excel athletically after all that food…
7. A newborn Panda is around the size of a stick of butter! As if our heart’s weren’t already melting.
8. Panda reserves in China cover 3.8 million acres of forest. We’re already packing our bags!
9. According to environmental experts, climate change is predicted to wipe out a third of a Panda’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years.
10. Giant Pandas generally live for about 14-20 years, but up to 30 in captivity. Chilling and eating bamboo all day? That doesn’t sound like a bad life to us – where do we sign up?

Now all you have to do is celebrate China’s extraordinary national animal with a meal at Chung Ying! C’mon, you know there’s logic in there somewhere.