Red, White And Blue – And Black And White, Too!

The Giant Panda – the beloved bear with distinctive black and white markings – has become a symbol of conservation.  Despite the fact that they are protected as a national treasure in their native China and the fact that they lack natural predators, these bears are endangered.  Habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal poaching, and deforestation have pushed the panda population to the risk of extinction with only about 1,600 pandas remaining in the wild.