In the wild, 99 percent of a panda's diet consists of leaves, stems and shoots of the bamboo plant, while the remainder is made up of flowers, vines, grasses, green corn, honey and small rodents. Pandas in captivity are fed bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, carrots, apples and sweet potatoes. read more
At 4 1/2 months old, baby pandas start to mimic their mother's bamboo eating habits, but they don't start eating it themselves until they develop 26 to 28 teeth. With the high fat content of the mother's milk, the baby panda reaches 50 to 60 pounds by age 1. Permanent teeth also erupt at year 1. read more