Giant Pandas

Ailuropodinae is a subfamily of Ursidae that contains only one extant species, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of China. The fossil record of this group has shown that various species of pandas were more widespread across the Holarctic, with species found in places such as Europe, much of Asia, North America and even Africa. The earliest pandas were not unlike other modern bear species in that they had an omnivorous diet but by around 2.4 million years ago, pandas had evolved to be more herbivorous.

The giant panda (Ailuropoda) belongs to the order of Carnivora, meaning that the macronutrients it digests are more similar to those found in carnivores' diets than those found in herbivores' diets, even though pandas eat mainly bamboo.