Giant pandas are considered to be carnivores, but their entire diet usually only consists of bamboo. The reason that pandas are considered carnivores and not herbivores is that their digestive system is missing a certain digestive tract made specifically for digesting plants. This tract is found in animals such as cows and sheep. The digestive tract of a giant panda is only about 10 cm long, and the small intestine is much smaller than a normal American bear. Pandas do not benefit much from eating bamboo, because their digestive tracts can only digest about 12% of the plant matter