Giant pandas have broad, flat molars modified for crushing, and an enlarged wristbone which functions as an opposable thumb - both specialized adaptations for eating bamboo. Their diet consists almost entirely of the leaves, stems and shoots of various bamboo species, although they occasionally eat meat. A giant panda may consume 12 to 18 kg of bamboo a day to meet its energy requirements. Giant pandas inhabit the bamboo forest zone between 1,200 m and 3,400 m. Formerly they were found in riverine valleys at lower elevations, but these areas are now settled by humans.
Giant pandas are generally solitary, each adult having a well-defined home range.
A male's home range overlaps with those of several females. Although encounters are rare outside the brief mating season, pandas communicate fairly often, mostly through vocalization and scent marking. Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between 4.5 and 7.5 years. After a gestation period of about five months, females give birth to a single young or sometimes twins. Wild giant pandas bear a cub every two years or more.