Are Pandas Really Bears?

Last updated: October 18, 2026

A bear that eats bamboo almost all day, sits like a person and looks like it was painted black and white? It's no surprise people wonder. But the answer is simple: yes, the giant panda is a true bear.

The short answer

Scientists place the giant panda in the bear family, Ursidae, together with black bears, grizzlies and polar bears. It's one of only eight bear species in the world. Meet the rest in The 8 Bear Species of the World.

Pandas are also about the same size as an American black bear. They stand about 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) tall at the shoulder, and wild males can weigh up to 250 pounds (113 kg).

Why pandas seem so un-bear-like

They eat bamboo, not meat

Pandas eat bamboo, and a lot of it: about 80 to 100 pounds (36 to 45 kg) a day, which takes them 12 to 14 hours of eating. In zoos, they also get special biscuits, carrots, sweet potatoes and apples.

Here's the funny part: a panda's digestive system is more like a meat-eater's than a plant-eater's. It isn't very good at getting nutrients out of bamboo, and much of what a panda eats passes right through. That's why it has to eat so much, and why it spends most of its day doing it.

And remember, most bears eat lots of plants. Black bears and grizzlies eat far more berries, roots and nuts than people expect. The panda just took it further. Read more in What Do Bears Eat?

They have a "thumb"

To hold bamboo, pandas use a "pseudo thumb": an enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad. It works like a thumb, helping them grip stalks while they eat.

They don't hibernate

Most black bears and grizzlies spend the winter in dens. Pandas don't. Bamboo is around all year, so there's no need for a long winter break. Read more in Do Bears Really Hibernate?

They make strange sounds

Pandas mostly live alone, but when they do meet, they can chirp, honk, bleat, chomp and bark.

Panda babies are tiny

Giant panda cubs are born pink, hairless and blind, not black and white. A newborn weighs only about 3 to 5 ounces (85 to 140 g), roughly the size of a stick of butter.

Their eyes open at about 6 to 8 weeks, and they don't really move around until they're about 3 months old. Right after giving birth, a mother focuses completely on holding and protecting her cub. Scientists have seen wild mothers go as long as a month without eating or drinking.

What about the red panda?

Here's where the confusion really comes from. The red panda shares the name and the love of bamboo, but it isn't a bear, and it isn't closely related to the giant panda.

Scientists have moved the red panda around over the years. It was first grouped with raccoons, and later placed in the bear family. Today, based on genetic research, red pandas have a family of their own, Ailuridae, and they're the only living member of it.

So of the two pandas, only the big black-and-white one is a bear.

Where giant pandas live

Wild giant pandas live only in the mountains of south-central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, at about 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,500 to 3,000 m). They once lived in lowlands too, but farming and development pushed them up into the mountains.

There's good news as well. Thanks to conservation work, giant pandas are no longer listed as endangered, though they're still considered vulnerable.

Quick facts

Yes, the panda is family. We don't talk about the bamboo thing.