Giant Panda meeting hard in season

Reproduction and Life Cycles

Giant pandas breed between March and May when the female begins to indicate her want to mate by making a series of groans and bleats to attract a male. After a gestation period that lasts for around five months, the female giant panda gives birth to one or two cubs in the base of a hollow tree or cave. 

Panda bear cubs are very underdeveloped at birth measuring as little as 15cm and weighing only 100g, they are made even more vulnerable by the fact that they are also blind and hairless and don’t begin to crawl until they are nearly three months old. 

Female pandas are only able to care for one cub at a time – even if they have twins. Cubs ride on their mothers’ back until they can walk as fast as her – at around six months. Panda bear cubs are weaned when they are around a year old but don’t leave their mother until they are 18 months old. 

Some cubs may stay with their mother for a few years until she becomes pregnant again and they leave to establish a territory of their own.