Adults live alone almost all of the time except for short periods during the spring when they seek out mates. This period lasts about six weeks during which the female pandas become receptive to the males for only two or three days. Breeding pandas in captivity has proven to be very difficult so the news of successful attempts quickly becomes a national and international story. In addition to the difficulty of getting captive pandas to mate, their young are very fragile at birth, weighing only about a quarter pound. This is compared to the adults that weigh up to 220 pounds.
Young pandas mature very slowly and are almost six months old before they are weened.
A panda surviving to adulthood may live up to 15 years.