Appearance

The giant panda is recognisable by its black eye patches and ears. It has a thickly furred white body with black limbs and a black band around its shoulders. The panda has small eyes and fairly poor vision. 

Giant pandas have very strong jaws and the largest molar teeth of any mammal. They use these teeth to crush tough bamboo stems. They also have lengthened bones in their wrists, and the forepaws have an extra 'thumb' which enables them to grasp even small bamboo shoots with great precision.

Giant pandas are very good climbers, and use this skill to escape from predators. They are flat-footed and ungainly when on the ground, but are able to move almost silently and very quickly through networks of tunnels in the bamboo.

Photo: Chen Wu