Giant pandas are undeniably one of the most adorable and loved animals in the world. They are native to Southwestern China wherein they dwell in temperate forests high up in the mountains.

Also known as the panda bear or simply panda, these beloved creatures mostly spend their day eating bamboo, which they need to eat around 26 to 84 pounds of it every day. No wonder they can weigh as heavy as 200 pounds for females and 300 pounds for males.

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Despite their insatiable appetite for bamboo, pandas will sometimes eat birds and rodents as well. They prefer living around high bamboo forests not just because of the abundant source of food, but the area is also cool and wet.

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With its distinct black and white coat, it is considered a national treasure in China.

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Despite this, back in the ’80s, there were only as few as 1,114 pandas in China. They have long been classified as endangered but after decades of hard work and improved conservation efforts, their population has dramatically risen up.

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A recent survey in 2014 estimated that there are now 1,864 pandas living in the wild.

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Their status has gone down to vulnerable but their numbers are still too low. Thankfully, there are still a number of conservation centers that strive to protect pandas – such as the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

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Almost like a panda daycare, the conservation base is famous for the protection and breeding of unique animals native to China. It was created on behalf of six sick and hungry giant pandas that were saved in the 1980s.

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Unlike other conservation centers, it has never captured other giant pandas aside from the six but instead bred 172 fetuses and 261 giant pandas.

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Aside from human threats, another possible reason for the pandas’ low population is their low reproduction rate. Females are only able to breed 2-3 days a year, and only give birth to one cub every two years.

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Newborn cubs are so small that they only weigh 90 – 130 grams. The panda cubs are also so small that they are one of the smallest newborn mammals relative to their mother’s size.

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Since they are hairy and blind at birth, cubs are solely dependent on their mothers for a few months. They start crawling however at three months and developed their much-loved color later.

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In the wild, females mostly give birth to a single cub. Twins are more apparent in captivity when artificial insemination is used. Since panda mothers often fail to care for the two, keepers reduce the load by regularly swapping cubs in and out so that the mother can provide equal attention to both.

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Giant pandas first became endangered mainly due to excessive poaching and deforestation, depleting their bamboo food source. Decades have gone by and with enough care and respect for these animals, their numbers are steadily growing.

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There are still hundreds of species that are in danger of becoming extinct in the wild. If we can save the giant pandas, we can definitely save the others.

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Source: Cheng du Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, National Geographic, WWF