The lovable and cuddly Panda is one of the most popular creatures in the world. These gentle giants are found only in China where there numbers are estimated to be 1600 living in the wild. The Giant Panda was discovered more than a 100 years ago by French Missionary Pere Amand David in 1869. There is much to learn about these incredible creatures like how they survive, reporduce and how they communicate. Researchers are determining how they leave scent trails to attract potential mates as well as their communication habits. With over a billion people and growing, China's population is ever encroaching on the Giant Panda's territory causing them to lose their natural habitats.

1. There are as few as 1,600 pandas left in the wild.

2. The giant panda has the largest molar teeth of any of the carnivores.

3. Although classed as a carnivore, the panda's diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo and it usually spends 14 hours a day eating.

4. Pandas stand on their head and forelegs to place scent high up on tree trunks.

5. The forepaws of the panda have an extra "thumb" which, when used in conjunction with its "forefingers," enables the panda to grasp even small bamboo shoots with precision.

6. The panda does not hibernate because it cannot store enough fat on a bamboo diet.

7. Pandas usually roam in the forest, but mothers will stay in caves or hollow trees when giving birth and remain there for three to four months after their babies are born.

8. The giant panda was unknown in the Western world until 1869, when a skin was found by Pére David, a French missionary.

9. Pandas are good at climbing trees. They can also swim.

10. Pandas like to live alone and will not often meet other pandas unless they get together during the mating season.

11. A day-old panda looks rather like a small white rat and weighs about 3.5 ounces, about 1/900 of the mother's body weight.

12. A female panda only comes into season for 72 hours a year.

13. Pandas can live for about 20 years in the wild.

14. Female pandas can start to give birth at 4-5 years old. A female can have 5-8 babies in the wild.

15. Pandas have occurred on earth for over 3 million years. They are called "living fossils" because many species that survived together with pandas in the past, such as stegodon (a big tusked elephant) and Chinese rhinos, are extinct already.

16. It is very difficult to see a panda in the wild because they live in thick bamboo, mostly in old-growth forests - their favorite habitat.

17. There are many other rare animals living in the same habitat with pandas, such as red pandas, takins and golden monkeys.