Bamboo bear vs Ferny Azolla

Ailuropoda melanoleuca compared with Azolla pinnata

Key Differences

• Bamboo bear is Vulnerable while Ferny Azolla is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bamboo bear	Ferny Azolla
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (plantas)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Tracheophyta
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Carnivora (carnívoros)	Salviniales (Salviniales)
Family	Ursidae (Bears)	Salviniaceae
Genus	Ailuropoda (Giant Pandas)	Azolla
Species	Ailuropoda melanoleuca	Azolla pinnata

Conservation Status

Bamboo bear

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~1.9K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Ferny Azolla

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bamboo bear	Ferny Azolla
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	20 years	—
Average Length	1.5 m	—
Average Weight	100.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bamboo bear

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in China. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Ferny Azolla

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including deserts and xeric shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas spanning the Palearctic and Oceanian realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan), North America (Mexico, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Tuvalu).

Bamboo bear

O panda-gigante (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) é um animal emblemático da China, célebre pela sua pelagem branca e preta e pela dieta baseada quase exclusivamente em bambu. Seu estado de conservação é vulnerável (VU), é o animal-bandeira da conservação internacional da vida silvestre e sua população apresentou alguma recuperação nos últimos anos.