Pandas are famous for their black and white markings. The legs, shoulders, ears and oval patches around the eyes are black, and the rest of the coat is white. Good tree climbers, pandas can also swim to escape predators.
Pandas use an enlarged wrist bone that looks like a thumb to grasp objects like bamboo.
Scientists disagree about whether the giant panda is closely related to bears or raccoons or is separate from both. Pandas weigh an average of 200 to 300 pounds and reach six feet in length. Only 1,000 pandas exist in the wild and 60 in zoos. The panda s lifespan in the wild is unknown but in captivity averages more than 20 years. The shrinking range of the panda is limited to parts of Szechuan, Shensi and Kansu provinces in central and western China.