Once believed to be semi-divine by the Chinese, only 1,000 giant pandas remain in the world today of which 140 are in captivity. They were first placed on the Endangered Species list in 1984. The last wild pandas occupy an area in Southern China amounting to 5,000 square miles of isolated patches of mountain and bamboo forests. They have become a symbol of wildlife conservation. Man is the panda's only real natural enemy, and in the last 30 years, the region in China where the panda lives has lost 30 percent of its bamboo forests. Roughly 95 percent of the panda's diet consists of bamboo stalks and roots. A solitary animal, they rarely breed in captivity making the survival of the species dependent upon man's efforts to preserve their natural habitat.

This loving mama panda is munching on a bamboo stalk, and appears to be comfortably sitting among a bunch of green leaves. The clasp is a leaf and her tiny baby is hidden inside. The box is marked Artoria Peint Main, Limoges France and is signed and numbered by the artist. It measures 3"h x 2"w.