Click to Skip Ahead
Pandas may look cute and cuddly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they would be a suitable addition to your home. As vulnerable species, these natives of China are protected by law; it is illegal to kill or capture a panda. The simple answer is no, a panda would not make a good pet. Still, if you’ve ever imagined what it would be like to have a pet panda, this article is for you. We will discuss the two panda species, the red panda and the giant panda, before digging into whether pandas would make suitable pets.
Red Pandas vs Giant Pandas
Before we discuss whether or not pandas make suitable pets, we should point out that there are two types of pandas! Both species originated in China, but otherwise, they couldn’t be more different.
Giant Pandas
When you hear the word panda, you might immediately picture the large, lovable, black-and-white pandas that have been in the news as an endangered species. They are giant pandas, and they are native to southwest China. Although baby pandas are hardly larger than kittens when they are born, they become massive animals. Female giant pandas weigh up to 200 pounds, and males weigh as much as 300 pounds.
The giant panda was designated an endangered species in 1990 and was only removed from the list in 2016. Although they are no longer endangered, giant pandas are still considered vulnerable, with only 1,864 left in the wild.
Red Pandas
Although these fascinating creatures may be called pandas, they look nothing like the famous giant panda bear. Giant pandas are members of the Ursidae family, which includes bears. Red pandas, meanwhile, were initially classified in the same taxonomic family as the raccoon. If you’ve ever seen a red panda, you won’t find this too surprising; red pandas look a lot like raccoons.
However, the red panda is not closely related to bears, such as the giant panda, or raccoons. Eventually, it was re-classified into its own taxonomic family, Ailuridae. These animals have no close relatives alive today; their closest ancestors last roamed the earth 3–4 million years ago.
The red panda’s natural habitats are mountainous regions such as the Himalayas, where bamboo is plentiful. In addition to China, they live in Myanmar, India, Tibet, and Nepal. Like the giant pandas, the population of red pandas worldwide is dwindling. They are considered to be an endangered species. One of the main reasons for their endangerment is the loss of habitat. Red pandas have also been poached for their fur and caught in the illegal pet trade.
Do Pandas Make Great Pets?
Now that you know a little bit more about pandas, let’s get to the bottom of whether pandas would make great pets. If you have ever thought about bringing a giant panda home, you are unlikely to pull it off for many reasons. The biggest reason is that you won’t be able to get your hands on one; every giant panda in the world, even those in zoos here in the United States, is owned by China.
It is illegal to adopt red pandas as pets, no matter where you live. Given that around 5,000 individual red pandas are in the world, you would have a very hard time capturing one.
Let’s put those obstacles aside for a moment. What would it be like to have one of these animals as a pet?
1. They can be dangerous.
Many people think that pandas are cuddly creatures, but they are incredibly dangerous. Giant pandas and red pandas have very sharp claws, and giant pandas also have very strong jaws. Those weapons combined with their sheer size would spell trouble for you if they felt threatened. Even if your panda did not harm you, it would likely tear up your home very quickly with their claws.
2. You would spend a lot of money on food.
Aside from the initial cost of purchasing a panda, you would need to be prepared to spend a lot of money on food for your panda. Giant pandas and red pandas eat bamboo, which is not readily available in many parts of the world—and they eat a lot of it. Giant pandas eat 20–40 pounds of bamboo per day. While a red panda doesn’t need nearly as much food as a giant panda, it can eat up to 30% of its body weight in bamboo each day.
Zoos supplement fresh bamboo with special concentrated pellets, but as you can imagine, they are very expensive. Zoos can spend around $100,000 a year just to feed their pandas.
3. They need large enclosures.
How big is your backyard? The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria recommends an outdoor enclosure for red pandas at least 860 square feet large. They need constant access to an indoor shelter and may require air conditioning in hot weather. Meanwhile, the giant panda needs about 44 square miles to roam.
4. They like to be alone.
Giant pandas and red pandas are solitary creatures. Unless they are mating, they do not spend very much time with other animals of their own kind. They certainly would not be happy living in close quarters with a human. Unlike a pet dog or cat that is content curling up with you on the couch, a giant panda or red panda would be much happier outdoors in its natural habitat.
Conclusion
Even if you could adopt a giant panda or red panda, they would not make very good pets. They are too dangerous, expensive, and require too much space to be loyal companions for most humans. Most importantly, keeping one is illegal due to the panda’s status as a vulnerable and endangered species. One of the best ways to spend time around these animals and ensure they are getting adequate care is to visit them at a nearby zoo. By supporting organizations that protect pandas, you can help ensure they are here to stay for future generations.
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay
