Do Pandas Make Good Pets?

What would it be like to have a pet panda?

Only a handful of conservation-oriented organizations are lucky enough to house giant pandas, which they “rent” from the Chinese government. Nearly 350 pandas are living under human supervision at breeding centers or zoos, with only around 50 living outside of China.

You can’t legally own a giant panda. But what if you could? Let’s explore what it’d be like if you were the proud owner of a panda bear!

Insanely High Food Bill

If you had a pet panda, you’d need a high disposable income for the food bill alone. Giant pandas eat between 26 to 84 pounds of bamboo daily!

The upside is you’d have a lot of fun watching your pet panda chow down. These bears have a special way of eating that involves using all five fingers in unison with their teeth. They carefully peel off the bamboo’s tough outer layer to expose the tasty insides. After eating the shoots, giant pandas will nibble on the leaves. They strip the leaves off of the stalks, crunch them up into little leaf balls, and swallow them whole.

Giant Pandas Poop a Lot

Picking up after your pet panda would be a real chore. Pandas have impressive gut microbes, but they aren’t the best at digesting all of that plant dry matter. On some days, they poop more than 40 times! You’d spend hours each week operating your panda pooper scooper.

Panda poops are pretty big; a typical giant panda poop is 6 inches by 3 inches in mass. You’d also have to figure out a way to clean the panda’s cage without disrupting their alone time.

Giant Pandas Are Loners

Even if you could own a panda, you wouldn’t have the kind of relationship you might share with your dog or cat. Pandas are always sleeping, pooping, or eating. And they never want anything to do with people.

Adult pandas spend much of their time alone, carrying out a solitary lifestyle. They may interact with one another occasionally, but these meet ups aren’t common. Instead, they go out of their way to avoid direct contact with other pandas.

Giant Pandas Don’t Cuddle

Cuddles and kisses from your pet can be quite enjoyable, but don’t assume you’ll get the same type of attention from a giant panda. Though the idea of cuddling a panda is enough to make anyone smile, the reality isn’t so sweet. Pandas don’t want you to touch them. These animals have large teeth, sharp claws, and eccentric temperaments.

If you went to hug your pet panda, he might knock you down with a powerful paw swipe. Or he’d bite you out of irritation. And if the panda doesn’t bite you, the bugs will. Giant pandas usually carry fleas, ticks, and mites!

Pet Pandas Are an Expensive Long-Term Commitment

Having a pet panda would be a long-term commitment! And an expensive one too. In the wild, giant pandas usually live around 20 years, and they can live for more than 30 years in captivity.

When China loans out pandas to other governments, these rentals come at a steep price. Each giant panda can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million annually.

You’d also have to pay for hard-to-find, specialized veterinary care. A regular vet isn’t going to know how to care for an exotic panda.

Finally, housing your panda would be another huge expense. Pandas need at least a 44-square-mile enclosure. They like being able to explore their environment and stretch their limbs. If the habitat is too small, your pet panda would become depressed and possibly ill.

Final Thoughts

Now you know the truth! Giant pandas do not make good pets. It’s illegal to buy giant pandas; but even if you could, it’d be a full-time commitment. You’d need to hire a team of fulltime helpers. Additionally, giant pandas eat over 80 lb. of food a day, and when they’re not eating, they’re pooping! You’d be constantly cleaning up after a pet that doesn’t want anything to do with you. These big, adorable bears are solitary creatures and just want to be left alone. Finally, this would be one of the most expensive pets you could own. You’d need about a million dollars annually just to rent one from China, and that’s before providing food, housing, and medical care.

Pandas aren’t good pets, but they are fascinating animals. Learn more about these unique bears and other animals through the articles below!

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The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/dangdumrong