Pandas are about the size of the American black bear. An adult panda is typically 1.5 meters long (4 - 5 feet) and weighs about 75 to 135 kilograms (165 to 353 pounds). Males are 10% to 20% heavier than females. Pandas live between 18 to 25 years in the wild.
Pandas have large molars and large jaw muscles extending from their jaw to the top of their head that crush the fibrous plant material and tough stalks of their main food, bamboo.
Pandas are most active at twilight and night. Their pupils have vertical slits, like snakes and many nocturnal animals, which allow them to see better at night.
Flexible forepaws and an enlarged wrist bone that works as an opposable thumb are useful for handling bamboo.
Like humans, pandas walk with both their heel and toes make in contact with the ground. Hairs on the soles of their feet give them traction and reduce heat loss on ice and snow.
Pandas can climb trees. Usually, however, only cubs or females in heat climb trees.
The panda's coat has two layers: a coarse outer layer and a dense, wooly under layer. Their fur is slightly oily which prevents water penetration in the cool, damp climate where the pandas live.