The Giant Panda is a national treasure in China and is therefore protected by law. This unique bear has long been revered by the Chinese and can be found in Chinese art dating back thousands of years.
The Chinese call their beloved pandas "large bear-cats." Giant pandas are black and white bears that live in temperate-zone bamboo forests in central China. Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains. And they live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense under story of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China. Therefore, the Giant Panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals.
The Giant Pandas have fascinated people outside of China since French Missionary Pere Armand David first described them in 1869. Now, more than 100 years later, the worldwide love for pandas has been combined with international efforts to keep them from becoming extinct.
