Enjoy This Free Giant Panda Printable

You may have read in our recent news article that the National Zoo in Washington, DC, recently welcomed two new giant pandas from China. Bao Li and Qing Bao are settling in before they go on public display at the zoo in January 2025.

In preparation for this grand unveiling, we’re excited about all-things-giant panda. Here are some fun facts about these amazing animals:

• Giant pandas are black and white. This coloring helps them hide in their natural habitat — the white camouflages them in snow, while the black helps them hide in shade.
• Giant pandas are strong swimmers and climbers, often learning to climb trees as young as 5 months old.
• They spend up to 16 hours a day eating, consuming 70-100 pounds of bamboo.
• Their diet consists mostly of bamboo, but they also eat other plants and small animals.
• Giant pandas poop up to 40 times a day!
• They sleep approximately 10 hours a day.
• They have two sets of teeth — baby teeth and adult teeth — just like humans.
• Giant pandas communicate by marking their scents.
• Sometimes they do a handstand — backing up a tree to mark their scent, thus ensuring it goes as high up the tree as possible.
• When giant panda babies are born, they only weigh about 5 ounces and are the size of a stick of butter. For contrast, once fully grown, they weigh between 150-280 pounds.
• Male pandas are not involved in caring for their babies.
• Giant pandas live 15-20 years in the wild, and up to 30 years when cared for by humans.

To learn even more about these delightful black and white creatures, check out this free giant panda lesson plan. Also, keep an eye out for the panda cam at the National Zoo, which will be live here starting in January. And finally, when you’re ready to get creative, download and print this fun giant panda coloring sheet.