Giant Panda Gallery

Giant panda babies

Giant panda babies (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Family: Ailuropodidae.
Wolong China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda within Wolong Reserve. Sichuan Province.
CHINA
RANGE: Temperate bamboo forests of altitudes between 6, 500 and 10, 000 feet. Central Sichuan, South Gansu, East Qinling and in Shaanxi Provinces of China.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Less than 1000 animals remain in the wild. Even the death penalty does not deter people from hunting these animals, but they are mostly endangered due to habitat loss.
They consume about 45 pounds of a specific type of bamboo per day as well as some mosses, fungi and even small rodents. Males weigh: 85-125kg's and females weigh: 70-100 kg's. They live 10-15 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity. Their natural predators are leopards

© Pete Oxford / DanitaDelimont.com

Ruth Harkness and her baby Giant Panda Diana, 1938

Following the success of her trip to China to capture a live Giant Panda, Manhattan socialite Ruth Harkness(Mrs. William Harness Jnr)(1900-1947) returns to China for another Giant Panda, which has been named Diana. Intended as a companion for her previous panda(named Sun-Lin in this article, but also known as Su Lin), Diana proved a disappointment when she turned out to be female. Date: 1938

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Ruth Harkness and her baby Giant Panda, Sun-Lin

Manhattan socialite Ruth Harkness(Mrs. William Harness Jnr)(1900-1947) fulfils her explorer husband's dream of capturing alive the first Giant Panda. This rare cub(named Sun-Lin in this article, but also known as Su Lin), was brought back from China to New York after many adventures. Here the cub is being examined by Dr. F. D Nance of Shanghai, who is testing its heart and lungs. Date: 1937

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans