pandas

Ancient Pandas Did Not Live On Bamboo Alone

Scientists in China have found that ancient pandas may have been carnivores or omnivores before eventually developing a specialized diet of bamboo.

Saving The Pandas Is Worth Every Cent

Protecting giant pandas generates benefits that amount to 10-27 times the cost of conservation efforts, scientists say.

22,000-Year-Old Panda Ancestor Found In Southern China

Mitochondrial DNA from a 22,000-year-old specimen found in a cave in Southern China belongs to an ancient panda, study says.

Livestock Wreak Havoc On Panda Habitats

By analyzing 20 years of data from China's Wanglang National Nature Reserve, researchers in China and the US have discovered that livestock are destroying the panda's habitat.

How Two Pandas Got Their Thumbs

A new study finds genetic evidence for convergent evolution in giant pandas and red pandas.

Hooray! The Giant Panda Is No Longer An Endangered Species

What an upgrade: the giant panda is no longer listed as endangered, but is now a vulnerable species.

Pandas Can’t Take The Heat

Climate change is not just a threat to the giant panda’s supply of bamboo—it also makes them vulnerable to heat stress.

Stay Cool And Eat Bamboo

Pandas can survive on a diet of bamboo thanks to their exceptionally low metabolic rate, scientists say.

Carnivore Tummies Make Pandas Inefficient Bamboo Munchers

The lack of plant-degrading gut microbes and enzymes mean that pandas can only digest 17 percent of the bamboo they eat.

How Fussy Pandas Maintain A Balanced Bamboo Diet

A study of six pandas over six years shows that they migrate in order to switch between bamboo species which provide them with different nutrients required for successful breeding.