Hard to bear: pandas poorly adapted for digesting bamboo, scientists find

Adding to their extinction woes, study finds pandas have a carnivorous digestive system and lack the gut flora for extracting maximum energy from plants

The panda's woes are well-documented. Their habitat is shrinking, they are incredibly fussy eaters and they have an unusually lacklustre approach to sex.

Now scientists have discovered that the bears are also poorly adapted for digesting bamboo, despite the plant being almost the only thing they eat. The research shows that two million years after shifting to a herbivore lifestyle, the giant panda still has carnivore-like gut bacteria, which is better at breaking down protein.