

Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise. Wild population estimates vary one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. By December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 countries. A 2007 report showed 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived, and it is a conservation-reliant vulnerable species. The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, and also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu.

In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.

Giant pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca, sometimes panda bear or simply panda) is a bear species endemic to China. "Panda" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
