Pandas at Play by Robert Bateman

Pandas at Play by Robert Bateman

 

Original stone lithograph published in 1988

 

The giant pandas are solitary animals. They live in rough, mountainous terrain and require large quantities of vegetation for their daily fare. One theory for their striking color patter is that they need to see echother from a long distance in order to avoid competing for food. They usually want to be alone. Of course, males and females sometimes come together. Then for a brief time, they engage inplayful, gentle 'wrestling matches'. I was fortunate enough to witness this behavior with a captive pair. This seems quite comical to most human eyes." - R. Bateman