What Type Is On The Menu? – BambRise (2025)

Have you ever thought, “If we’re using all of these bamboo products, what are the poor panda bears eating?” The good news is most of the bamboo we use was never within 100 miles of a wild panda. But if they’re not eating your flooring and furniture, what bamboo do pandas eat?

Wild pandas eat roughly 42 bamboo species, including Arrow, Black, and Bisset. Pandas eat a mixture of shoots, culms, and leaves, often from different species, but they may eat various parts of the same plant during different seasons. A panda’s diet selection depends on bamboo availability.

Relative to the thousands of bamboo species, pandas have a limited diet. But are these restrictions due to the geography pandas live in? Do bamboo species provide different nutritional values? Does the bamboo age influence a panda’s preference? And how are conservation bodies protecting panda’s food sources?

A Guide To Pandas And The Bamboo They Eat

Panda bears, giant pandas, or pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are some of the most well-known animals globally. Originating from Central China, pandas inhabit bamboo forests in mountainous areas.

Most of a panda’s diet (90 to 98%) is bamboo-based, including the roots, shoots of younger plants, branches, and leaves. Scientists believe that pandas have eaten bamboo for roughly 2.4 million years.

Bamboo plants belong to the subfamily Bambusoideae within the grass family (Poaceae). While their distribution is in most tropical, subtropical, and some milder temperate regions worldwide, East and Southeast Asia have the greatest species diversity and biomass.

Although they consume these plants, pandas do not possess the correct digestive system for bamboo (they have simple stomachs, better adapted to digesting meat).

Pandas cannot digest cellulose (a compound found in every plant cell that makes up the cell wall), making them “wasteful” eaters, as only roughly 20% of what they eat is used. The rest is excreted.

To overcome this issue, pandas must eat frightening amounts of plant material (up to 16 hours of the day, eating between 20 and 90 lbs ) to extract the most nutrients from the plants.

What Bamboo Species Do Pandas Eat?

There are roughly 1500 distinct species spread globally. Although a panda’s diet consists primarily of bamboo, they don’t eat all the species.

Some of the popular bamboo species eaten by pandas include:

  • Bambusa sinospinosa (Chinese Thorny)
  • Bashania fargesii (Windbreak/Wooden)
  • Chimonobambusa opienensis (Opienensi)
  • Chimonobambusa quadrangularis (Square)
  • Fargesia dracocephala (Dragon-head)
  • Phyllostachys aurea (Yellow)
  • Phyllostachys bissetii (Bisset’s)
  • Phyllostachys nigra (Black)
  • Pseudosasa japonica (Arrow)

Which Parts Of The Bamboo Do Pandas Eat?

Pandas eat most parts of the bamboo plant; however, the particular species often influences which part pandas eat.

While the exact values vary between season, plant species, reproduction status, slope height, and several other factors, on average, pandas eat:

  • Culms – 37 lbs
  • Leaves – 22 lbs
  • Shoots – 88 lbs

The parts of a bamboo plant that pandas eat change according to the season. Pandas may still consume other parts, but there is a marked decrease in one part’s consumption with a subsequent spike in another.

  • Spring and Summer – mostly shoots as they erupt out of the plants.
  • Autumn – leaves. Shoot production slows, and older shoots “thicken.”
  • Winter – roots and culms. Once the leaves begin wilting, the culms and roots provide the best nutrition.

Researchers often categorize bamboo according to what parts pandas eat (culm, leaves, and stem groups).

However, in areas where pandas have access to limited species, they may eat more than one plant part. For example, a study of pandas in the Qinling Mountains of China discovered that these pandas switched between Wooden and Arrow bamboo depending on the season and what was available.

The pandas ate new shoots of Wooden bamboo during the spring, then migrated up the mountain to eat the Arrow bamboo shoots during summer. Once the higher shoots matured, the pandas switched to the leaves.

In autumn, females moved down the slopes to eat the Wooden bamboo leaves, which coincided with birthing the next generation.

Does The Bamboo’s Age Influence Pandas’ Diet Selection?

Younger bamboo shoots (and plants) have greater crude protein concentrations, while older plants have more lignin fibers (hard material that improves the grass’s support/stability but is less palatable).

A study discovered that pandas eat fewer leaves once they reach 1 year. Simultaneously, pandas eat fewer culms aged 5 years and above because of the increased fibrous material.

Why Do Pandas Eat These Bamboo Species?

Pandas adapted to eating bamboo thanks to the grass’ abundance and the decrease in their prey sources.

Most bamboo species are perennial and may grow up to 1 foot every day. This growth rate and its vegetative spreading nature create a consistent food source for most animals in the area.

A panda’s bamboo selection is largely related to availability. I.e., these bears eat the edible species (not poisonous) that grow in the patch of forest they call home.

Regarding the plant parts, (again) pandas eat what’s available. Shoots only grow in the spring and summer, so the bears increase their intake during these months. Once the shoots mature, pandas switch to the next most available resources.

Once the plants stop producing shoots, nutrients move to the leaves (for photosynthesis), making leaves the next best choice. In the winter, the culm has the highest nutrient concentrations (leaves dry out).

Pandas prefer plants with large leaves and thick mesophyll and those with tender stems as the fiber content is lower, while the energy content is higher.

The Nutritional Values Of Different Bamboo Species

The various bamboo species and their parts provide different nutritional benefits, varying their appeal to pandas.

During a study of the nutrient benefits of the different bamboo-part categories, researchers discovered that the culm and leaf groups (where pandas eat only the stems or leaves of a particular bamboo species) provided the least amount of energy (but contained other essential nutrients like calcium).

The higher fiber content in these groups can also limit or prevent the digestion of protein (essential in animals) when consumed in excess.

Conversely, shoots provide pandas with the highest energy and protein (nitrogen and phosphorus) levels, but the protein has a negative effect when over-consumed.

They conclude that pandas (much like people) should have a balanced diet, which means they need access to diverse bamboo species.

Do Pandas In Captivity Eat Other Bamboo Species?

The healthiest diet for captive pandas is a variety of bamboo plants and parts.

However, these captive animals receive a range of different food types (depending on availability), including:

  • Cereals
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables (carrots and ginseng)
  • Panda cakes (a mixture of water, fruit juice, food coloring, and fruits and veg on top, which is frozen.
  • Milk

Captive pandas may have a wider bamboo selection (African and American varieties).

Bamboo As A Driver For Panda Conservation

Thanks to the panda’s majority bamboo diet, they are restricted in what habitats they naturally occur in. Until recently, pandas were under threat of extinction (endangered) due to habitat loss (humans harvesting bamboo/destroying forests for development).

Some bamboo species take between 20 and 40 years to flower and reseed. Once reseeding finishes, it may take between 1 and 10 years for it to grow again. This delay leads to food shortages for pandas needing access to other bamboo groves or species to survive.

Additionally, in areas with limited species diversity, pandas may suffer in the winter when the species present go into dormancy/don’t supply enough nutrition.

Nature conservation bodies in China have realized these issues and have improved the situation for pandas by increasing the number of protected areas and reforesting areas with different bamboo species.

An example of these interventions is in the Wolong Nature Reserve, where they have started planting:

  • Bambusa sinospinosa (Chinese Thorny)
  • Chimonobambusa quadrangularis (Square)
  • Dendrocalamus latiflorus (Mei-Nung/Taiwan Giant)
  • Fargesia robusta (Wolong/Clumping)
  • Phyllostachys Bissetii (Bisset’s)

Bamboo forests are expanding and increasing diversity thanks to these and similar initiatives. This increase positively affects panda populations, which the IUCN updated from “endangered” to “vulnerable”.

Conclusion

Wild pandas inhabit mountainous regions of central China, and roughly 90% of their diet consists of bamboo. Although there are thousands of bamboo species globally, pandas only eat around 42 species. Their dietary selection is primarily influenced by availability. Pandas eat culms, leaves, and shoots, according to the season, and require a balanced diet of different species to remain healthy.

What Type Is On The Menu? – BambRise (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Virgilio Hermann JD

Last Updated:

Views: 5787

Rating: 4 / 5 (41 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Virgilio Hermann JD

Birthday: 1997-12-21

Address: 6946 Schoen Cove, Sipesshire, MO 55944

Phone: +3763365785260

Job: Accounting Engineer

Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.