Bamboo contains very little nutritional value so pandas must eat 12-38kg every day to meet their energy needs.

But they do branch out, with about 1% of their diet comprising other plants and even meat. While they are almost entirely vegetarian, pandas will sometimes hunt for pikas and other small rodents.

Indeed, as members of the bear family, giant pandas possess the digestive system of a carnivore, although they have evolved to depend almost entirely on bamboo.

This reliance on bamboo leaves them vulnerable to any loss of their habitat – currently the major threat to their survival.