Habitat
The panda first appeared 2 to 3 million years ago. Originally, panda territory included South and East China and parts of Myanmar and Northern Vietnam. Fossil evidence shows that pandas lived almost as far north as Beijing. Today, pandas are found in six isolated forest areas in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces in China.
Pandas live in high mountainous areas, usually from 2,700 to 3,700 meters (8,500 to 11,500 feet) above sea level, that have natural forested areas with fir, spruce, and bamboo. Today, only 29 small, fragmented areas have the appropriate habitat to support the world's existing panda populations.