It is estimated that there are somewhere around 700 and 1,000 giant pandas still alive in the wild. Because of their reliance on bamboo as their primary food, they will remain in significant danger unless their present habitat is expanded. Bamboo goes through cycles where different varieties die off leaving the Panda bears with little resources to eat. Without the ability to move to new areas which have not been affected, starvation and death will certainly occur for the giant panda. Such die-offs of the bamboo also put the giant pandas in more direct contact with farmers and poachers as the bears try to find new areas in which to feed. Since Pandas do not have many natural enemies other than man, they can live up to twenty-five years old or more.

There are about 140 Pandas living in captivity in breeding facilities and zoos, with about 20 of those captive bears living outside their homeland. In the United States, just three zoos -- in Atlanta, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. -- shelter pandas. The animals are precious, with the zoos paying up to $1 million a year to the Chinese government for the privilege of "borrowing" the animals for display and study.