The conservation status of the giant panda is endangered. It is listed as such on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals.
Species reach this status when the population of the species is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental/predation limits. There are only approximately 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild. Some pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world; the majority of these pandas are in China.
The giant panda has become an endangered species because of its low reproductive rate, bamboo shortages, habitat destruction, and hunting. Poaching is also a problem.
Low Reproductive Rate: Pandas have a very short breeding season, and females give birth to only one or to cubs at a time. The cubs are very dependent upon their mothers during the first few years of life.
In the wild, mother pandas will only care for one cub. In zoos/breeding centers, keepers help to raise multiple cubs.
Bamboo Shortages: Bamboo plants reach maturity, flower, produce seeds, and then die. Those seeds grow slowly into the large plants the pandas eat. Although giant pandas can eat 25 different types of bamboo, they will usually only eat the few kinds that grow in their home range. The different bamboo species bloom and die at the same time, which causes the pandas to move to another area. However, due to human presence/activities, the panda's habitats, and thus resources of bamboo, have been severely depleted.
Habitat Destruction: Because pandas are primarily found in southwestern China's damp, misty bamboo/conifer forests (about 4,000 feet above sea level), it is difficult for them to find/move to other areas to inhabit once their habitat has been destroyed. China has a population of more than one billion people, and as these people build more and use more resources, more of the giant panda's habitat disappears. Additionally, people in China/throughout the world use bamboo to make bamboo products such as wood flooring.
Hunting: Traps for other animals often kill pandas.
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