Pandas live in the mountain ranges of central China. Most are concentrated in the Minshan and Qinling Mountains.
As of 2015, wild giant pandas are limited to the Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. However, their historic range was much broader. In the past, pandas lived in most of south eastern China. Their territory also stretched into Vietnam and Myanmar.
Pandas prefer to live in cool, wet environments. In addition, their diet consists mostly of bamboo. Therefore, they only live in temperate bamboo forests. The declining range of the giant panda is due to the decline of their natural habitat. However, the Chinese government and conservation groups are working to conserve and develop bamboo forests to help panda populations expand.
