Animals in China
Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
China has no national animal set down in law, but the giant panda is its national symbol and one of the most recognized animals in the world. Although it belongs to the bear family, it eats almost only bamboo, up to 12 to 38 kilograms a day. The last national survey counted 1,864 in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan. Once Endangered, the species was moved to Vulnerable in 2016 after decades of protection and breeding programs, many of them at the Chengdu panda base, and China has long sent pandas abroad as a sign of friendship.
View details→Wildlife in China
China covers about 9.6 million square kilometers, one of the largest countries in the world, yet about 94 percent of its people live on the 43 percent of the land east of a line running from Heihe in the northeast to Tengchong in the southwest. West of that line the country empties out into deserts, grasslands and high plateaus, which is a big reason so many large animals still survive there. From end to end China runs from the cold forests of the northeast through the Gobi and the steppe to the Tibetan Plateau and Mount Everest, at 8,849 meters on its border with Nepal, and down to the bamboo mountains of Sichuan and the tropical forests of Yunnan and Hainan. Few countries offer wildlife such a range of homes, and the seasons vary as much as the land, from harsh northern winters to a monsoon that soaks the south in summer.
That divide also shaped the way people live with animals. Farming and cities filled the wetter east, while herders with yaks, horses and camels kept to the dry west, and today conflict with wildlife looks very different on each side. China set up its first nature reserve in 1956, and in October 2021 it named its first five national parks. Together they cover about 230,000 square kilometers, and each protects a different world: Sanjiangyuan on the high plateau, the Giant Panda park in the mountains of the southwest, Northeast China Tiger and Leopard on the Russian border, the Hainan rainforest and Wuyi Mountain in the southeast. One of the country's best known rescue efforts brought wild horses back to Xinjiang, starting with 11 animals in the 1980s, and China now holds more than 900 of them.
China recorded 154.5 million inbound visits in 2025, 35.17 million of them by foreign nationals, helped by a rapid rise in visa free entry. For most of those who come for wildlife, the first stop is Chengdu and its panda breeding base, and others head for mountain parks such as Emei Shan, where monkeys are part of the visit. Wildlife follows these contrasts: big cats and large deer in the northern forests, wild horses and camels in the dry north, big cats and yaks on the plateau, pandas in the bamboo mountains, and elephants, snakes and primates in the tropical south.
Most Dangerous Animals in China
The animals that cause the most harm in China are venomous snakes. More than 60 venomous species live in the country, including cobras and vipers, and one review estimates 250,000 to 280,000 bites a year, although there is no full national reporting system and the true figure may be higher. Bites peak from April to October, the warmer months of the year. Elephants are the best known danger in the south. As their numbers grew toward 400, they began entering villages and farms in Yunnan, and they have killed people who met them there. On the high plateau the concern is bears. Qinghai's forestry bureau reported that 14 herders were attacked by brown bears between 2014 and 2017, nine of them fatally, and a 2020 study in Sanjiangyuan found that over 88 percent of the residents surveyed had had bears break into their homes. Herders lose livestock to wolves and big cats as well, but big cats live in remote areas and attacks on people are very rare. Wild boar and wild cattle can charge when surprised, monitor lizards can bite if handled, and in mountain parks such as Emei Shan, macaques grab food and bags from visitors. At sea, tiger, bull and reef sharks, barracudas and sea snakes are present, but incidents are uncommon.
Top 10 Animals in China
China's most famous animals are spread across very different corners of the country. Pandas come first, and they are also the easiest to see, at the breeding base in Chengdu. Their wild cousins live mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, and the Giant Panda National Park, created in 2021, covers more than 22,000 square kilometers and holds over 70 percent of them, although a chance sighting in the bamboo is very rare. Big cats are the other headline. About 70 tigers and about 80 leopards live in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park near the Russian border, where cameras recorded a wild mother with five cubs in 2025. High in the west, a survey of the Sanjiangyuan region using camera traps from 2015 to 2021 estimated about 1,000 of the big cats of the snow, in a country that holds about 60 percent of their world range. Elephants live only in the far south of Yunnan, in Xishuangbanna, Pu'er and Lincang, and their numbers reached nearly 400 by 2026. They made world news in 2021, when a wandering herd walked more than 1,400 kilometers over 124 days before returning to its usual home. Bears are found in both the cold northeast and the high plateau, wolves range across the north and west, and the northern forests of the Greater Khingan range are home to the largest deer in the country. Like the big cats, these are seen far more often by rangers and herders than by visitors.
Leopard
Panthera pardus
China's leopards survive in scattered pockets. In the northeast, Amur leopards move between Russia and the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in Jilin and Heilongjiang. In the north, the leopards known as North Chinese leopards live in the Loess Plateau and Taihang Mountains, and Indian and Indochinese leopards remain in southern Tibet and the southwest. Poaching and prey loss cut their range sharply. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Asian Elephant
Elephas maximus
China's wild Asian elephants survive only in southern Yunnan, mainly around Xishuangbanna and Pu'er near the borders of Laos and Myanmar. Protection has helped the population grow to about 300. In 2021 a herd of around 15 elephants walked some 500 kilometers north toward Kunming before turning back, drawing worldwide attention. Conflict with farmers and tea and rubber plantations remain the main challenges. IUCN status: Endangered.
Asiatic Black Bear
Ursus thibetanus
China holds a large share of the world's Asiatic black bears, in forests from Yunnan and Sichuan through central China to the northeast, where they share the woods with Siberian tigers. They feed on fruit, acorns, walnuts and pine nuts and den in winter in the north. China is also the center of bear bile farming: more than 20,000 bears, most of them Asiatic black bears, are thought to be kept on licensed farms. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
China is the only country where giant pandas live in the wild, in the misty bamboo forests of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, which they share with red pandas, takins and snow leopards. The 2015 national survey counted 1,864, three quarters of them in Sichuan, and most now live inside Giant Panda National Park, created in 2021. Chengdu's breeding base is the best place to see them up close. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Macaque
Macaca spp.
China has several macaques: the rhesus macaque across much of the south, the Tibetan macaque in the mountains of central and southern China, plus Assamese, stump tailed and northern pig tailed macaques in the southwest. Tibetan macaques at Mount Huangshan and Mount Emei are famous with tourists and scientists, and rhesus macaques at Zhangjiajie are often seen on trails. Introduced macaques also live in Hong Kong's country parks. IUCN status: varies by species.
Pangolin
Manidae (8 species)
China is home to the Chinese pangolin, which once lived across the south of the country, from Yunnan to Fujian and the island of Hainan. Decades of hunting for its scales and meat cut its numbers so sharply that it is now Critically Endangered and rarely seen. In 2020 China raised it to the highest level of national protection and removed pangolin scales from its official list of traditional medicines. IUCN status: varies by species.
Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens
In China the red panda lives in the mountain forests of Sichuan, Yunnan and southeastern Tibet, and the country holds the largest share of its population, often estimated at 6,000 to 7,000. Most belong to the darker Chinese form, which some scientists now treat as a separate species. It shares bamboo forests with the giant panda and the takin, but logging, roads and grazing keep shrinking its range. IUCN status: Endangered.
Snow Leopard
Panthera uncia
China holds the largest share of snow leopard habitat in the world, around 60 percent, across the Tibetan Plateau, the Himalayas, the Kunlun, the Qilian and the Tian Shan of Xinjiang. Sanjiangyuan National Park in Qinghai is a key site, where Tibetan monasteries and herders help with monitoring. The cats hunt blue sheep and marmots, and conflict with herders remains the main pressure. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Bactrian Camel
Camelus bactrianus
China is home to both kinds of two humped camel. Domestic Bactrian camels are herded across the deserts of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang, where they once carried goods along the Silk Road. Wild Bactrian camels, a separate and endangered species, survive in the remote deserts around Lop Nur, the Gashun Gobi and the Arjin Mountains, protected by the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve. They can drink salty spring water that would kill most mammals. Hunting, mining and crossbreeding with domestic camels are their main threats. IUCN status: Endangered (wild camel).
Yak
Bos grunniens
China holds about 13 million of the world's 14 million yaks, with the biggest herds in Qinghai and Tibet, where yaks give milk, butter, meat, wool and dung for fuel. It is also the last stronghold of the wild yak, which lives in the Chang Tang, Hoh Xil and the Arjin Shan between about 4,000 and 6,100 meters. IUCN status: domestic yak not evaluated; wild yak Vulnerable.
Przewalski's Horse
Equus ferus przewalskii
In China, Przewalski's horses were once part of the wildlife of the Dzungarian Gobi in Xinjiang. Since 2001 they have been released in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, a vast steppe and semi desert in the north of Xinjiang, and later at Dunhuang West Lake in Gansu. The herds are growing, but they still receive extra food and water in hard winters and droughts. IUCN status: Endangered.
Takin
Budorcas taxicolor
China holds most of the world's takins and three of their four types: the golden takin of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi, the Sichuan takin of the Min and Qionglai Mountains, which shares its forests with the giant panda, and the Mishmi takin of southeastern Tibet and Yunnan. Reserves such as Foping in the Qinling and Tangjiahe in Sichuan protect them, and the takin is a first class protected animal. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Goitered Gazelle
Gazella subgutturosa
In China the goitered gazelle lives in the deserts of Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and western Inner Mongolia. One of its strongholds is Kalamaili Nature Reserve in the Junggar Basin, where surveys counted more than 11,000 gazelles and where Przewalski's horses have been returned to the wild. Gazelles there compete with sheep for the same plants, and fences and roads break up the herds' seasonal routes. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Brown Bear
Ursus arctos
China has brown bears in the northeast, in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang and across the Tibetan Plateau, home of the Tibetan blue bear. In the Sanjiangyuan region of Qinghai, bears have learned to break into herders' winter homes for food, and in a 2020 study over 92 percent of families reported bear damage. In the northeast they share forests with the Siberian tiger. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Gray Wolf
Canis lupus
Gray wolves range across several parts of China, including Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang and parts of the northeast. They inhabit grasslands, deserts and high plateau terrain. In areas like the Tibetan Plateau, wolves share the landscape with snow leopards and brown bears. Prey includes Tibetan antelope, gazelles and domestic livestock. Conflict with herders is common, and attitudes toward wolves vary greatly across different regions.
Stone Marten
Martes foina
In China, the stone marten lives in the west, in the mountains of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Tibet. It is found in conifer forests, on rocky slopes and in alpine shrubland, often at high altitude, where it hunts pikas, voles and birds and eats berries in season. It shelters in rock crevices and is mostly active at night. The pine marten does not live in China, so this is the only one of the two European martens found here. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eurasian Lynx
Lynx lynx
In China the Eurasian lynx lives in a broad arc across the north and west, from the forests of the northeast to the Altai and Tian Shan of Xinjiang, the Qilian mountains and the Tibetan Plateau. On the plateau it lives in open, rocky country and hunts hares and pikas, while in northern forests it takes deer and other mammals. It shares many mountains with snow leopards and wolves, and it is protected in China. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes
The red fox is found across most of China, from the forests of the northeast and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia to the deserts of Xinjiang and the Tibetan Plateau, and south to the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan. Several subspecies live in the country. It is an important predator of rodents and pikas on farmland and steppe, and it has long been hunted and farmed for its fur. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Squirrel
Sciurus vulgaris
In China, the red squirrel is found across the northeastern provinces and in forested mountain regions further west, including parts of Xinjiang and the Greater Khingan range. Its coat is often darker than in European populations. It inhabits coniferous and mixed forests, feeding on seeds and stored caches through the long winters of northern China. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Siberian Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica
China's Siberian tigers live in the northeast, in the forests of Jilin and Heilongjiang along the Russian border. The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, created in 2021, reported 72 wild tigers in 2026, up from 27 in 2017, and in 2025 a tigress was filmed raising five cubs. Many of these tigers cross back and forth into Russia. IUCN status: Endangered.
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
The wild boar is one of the most widespread large mammals in China, from the forests of the northeast to the mountains of the center and the tropical south. Pigs were domesticated from local wild boars in China about 8,000 years ago. In the northeast, boars are a key prey of the Siberian tiger, and their recovery matters for the tiger's return. They also damage crops in many farming areas. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
In China, wolverines survive only in the far north: the cold conifer forests of the Greater Khingan Mountains in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, and the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang. A national review estimated about 200 animals in the Greater Khingan and about 100 in the Altai, and camera traps in Heilongjiang's Beijicun reserve keep recording them. The species is under the highest level of national protection. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Moose
Alces alces
In China, moose live in the conifer and birch forests of the Greater and Lesser Khingan ranges in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, near the Russian border, and in the Altai Mountains of northern Xinjiang. These are smaller animals than those of Alaska or Scandinavia. Logging and past overhunting cut the population sharply, and in 2021 China raised the moose to its highest level of national protection. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Fruit Bat
Pteropodidae
In China, fruit bats live in the warm south, mainly in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and on Hainan Island. The most common are small species such as Leschenault's rousette, which roosts in caves, and the short nosed fruit bat, which can make tents by chewing through palm leaves. They pollinate flowers and spread seeds in the remaining tropical forests of the south, and they also visit fruit orchards. IUCN status: varies by species.
Clouded Leopard
Neofelis nebulosa
In China, clouded leopards once lived across much of the south, but today they survive mainly in the tropical and subtropical forests of southern Yunnan and in Medog, in southeastern Tibet. In many southern provinces they have not been recorded for decades. Hunting and the loss of lowland forest caused the decline. The species is under the highest level of national protection in China. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Bengal Slow Loris
Nycticebus bengalensis
In China the Bengal slow loris lives at the northern edge of its range, mainly in southern Yunnan and western Guangxi, where recent surveys found a patchy, fragmented distribution. It has the highest level of state protection in China. Much of the cross border trade from Myanmar is aimed at Chinese buyers of traditional medicine, so enforcement along the border is key to its survival. IUCN status: Endangered.
Dhole
Cuon alpinus
Dholes once ranged across much of China, but today they survive only in small, scattered groups. Recent records come from just six provinces: Gansu, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Tibet and Xinjiang. In 2013, camera traps in Yanchiwan Nature Reserve in Gansu photographed a female with pups on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Habitat loss, the decline of prey and past poisoning campaigns drove their collapse. IUCN status: Endangered.
Gaur
Bos gaurus
In China the gaur survives only in small, scattered herds in southern Yunnan, mainly in Xishuangbanna, and in the far southeast of Tibet. Yunnan once held several hundred, but hunting and the spread of farms and rubber plantations cut them to a fraction of that. It is a first class protected animal in China, and camera traps in Xishuangbanna still catch small herds. Wild Asian elephants share these same forests. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Eld's Deer
Rucervus eldii
In China, Eld's deer survives only on Hainan Island, in the southwest of the island. Hunting left just 26 animals at Datian in 1976, but strict protection brought the herd back to more than 1,000 by 2003. Datian is now part of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, and new herds have been moved to other sites. A 2024 genome study found Hainan's deer distinct from all others. IUCN status: Endangered.
Sambar Deer
Rusa unicolor
In China, the sambar lives in the subtropical and tropical forests of the south, in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi, and on the island of Hainan. Decades of hunting and forest clearance have left most populations small and scattered, and it is now a nationally protected species in China. Its range here overlaps with areas where tigers and leopards once hunted it, and only leopards remain in a few places. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Pallas's Cat
Otocolobus manul
China holds a large share of the world's Pallas's cats, on the Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai, Tibet and western Sichuan and in the steppes of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang. They live in high grasslands and rocky slopes rich in pikas. Poisoning campaigns against pikas, seen as pests that damage pastures, are a serious threat, because they remove the cat's main food. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Mountain Hare
Lepus timidus
In China the mountain hare lives in the northeast, in the forests of the Greater Khingan range in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, at the southern edge of its Asian range. Locally called the snow hare, it turns white in winter in these cold boreal forests of larch and birch. These forests are shared with Eurasian lynx, wolves, red foxes and wolverines. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eurasian Otter
Lutra lutra
China once had otters in rivers across most of the country, but hunting for the fur trade, pollution and dams wiped them out from large areas in the late 20th century. Today the Eurasian otter survives in the northeast, along rivers of the Tibetan Plateau, where camera traps record it in the headwaters of great rivers, and in parts of the southwest. It shares these regions with snow leopards and giant pandas. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Elk
Cervus canadensis
China has several forms of the elk. The Manchurian wapiti lives in the forests of the northeast, the Tian Shan wapiti in the mountains of Xinjiang, the Alashan wapiti in the Helan Mountains and the rare shou in southern Tibet. In the northeast it is prey for the Siberian tiger, gray wolves and brown bears. Many are also kept on farms for their velvet antlers, used in traditional medicine. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Monitor Lizard
Varanus salvator
The Asian water monitor reaches the northern edge of its range in southern China, in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and on Hainan Island, where it lives along rivers, wetlands and coastal forests. Hunting and habitat loss have made it rare, and in 2021 it became a first class protected animal in China. In nearby Hong Kong, the IUCN considers it possibly extinct. IUCN status: Least Concern.
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
The king cobra lives in the tropical and subtropical forests of southern China, mainly in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan, in dense jungle and near streams. It feeds almost only on other snakes and avoids people when it can. It is protected in China, but its numbers have fallen due to habitat loss and decades of hunting for traditional medicine and restaurants, and it is now rare in many areas. Hainan's forests still hold some of its best populations. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Green turtles are the most common sea turtle in Chinese waters. They nest in the Xisha (Paracel) Islands of the South China Sea and at Huidong in Guangdong, where the Gangkou Sea Turtle National Nature Reserve protects the only regular nesting beach on the Chinese mainland, and they forage around Hainan and along the southern coast. Hunting, egg collection and coastal development caused heavy declines, and all sea turtles are now protected. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Sea Snake
Laticauda colubrina
The banded sea krait reaches the southern coasts of China, around Hainan Island and the South China Sea, at the northern edge of its range. It hunts moray and conger eels on coral and rocky reefs and comes ashore on rocky islets to rest, digest and lay eggs. It is calm and rarely bites people, but its venom is strongly neurotoxic. Bycatch and reef loss are the main threats to it here. IUCN status: Least Concern.
European Adder
Vipera berus
The European adder reaches the edges of its vast range in northern China, in two separate areas: the mountains of Xinjiang in the northwest, such as the Altai, and Jilin province in the northeast, near the borders with Russia and North Korea. It lives in cool forest clearings, mountain meadows and steppe. These populations are little studied compared with those in Europe. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Steppe Eagle
Aquila nipalensis
In China, the steppe eagle breeds across the grasslands and deserts of the north and west, including Xinjiang and the Tian Shan, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and northern Tibet, its southernmost breeding area. China holds a few thousand pairs. In winter some birds move to the south and east of the country, as far as Guangdong and Hainan, while others cross the Himalayas into South Asia. IUCN status: Endangered.
Griffon Vulture
Gyps fulvus
In China, the griffon vulture lives only in the far west, with breeding populations in western Xinjiang and in southeastern Tibet. It nests on cliffs in the mountains and soars over high valleys and steppe in search of carcasses. In the central Tian Shan it is rare, because there a larger relative is the dominant vulture. China marks the eastern edge of this bird's regular range. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eagle Owl
Bubo bubo
In China, the Eurasian eagle owl has a broad distribution across the northern and western regions, including the mountains of Xinjiang, the Tibetan Plateau, Inner Mongolia, and the forests of Manchuria. It adapts well to a variety of habitats from arid steppes to wooded mountain valleys. The species nests on rocky ledges and hunts a wide range of prey. The IUCN rates it as Least Concern.
Himalayan Monal
Lophophorus impejanus
In China, the Himalayan monal inhabits the subalpine forests and rocky slopes of the southern and southwestern ranges, including parts of Tibet and Yunnan. Males display feathers that shimmer in metallic greens, blues, and copper as mountain light catches them. The species forages by digging into soil with its sturdy curved bill, uncovering roots and tubers. It is listed as a protected species under Chinese wildlife law.
Saker Falcon
Falco cherrug
China is one of the most important countries for the saker falcon. Breeding populations inhabit the vast grasslands and steppes of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and the Tibetan Plateau margins. China is also a key wintering destination for birds from further north. Habitat loss due to agricultural expansion, illegal trapping for the falconry trade, and collisions with power lines all pose serious risks. The IUCN lists the saker falcon as Endangered.
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
The barn owl is found across much of China, from the agricultural plains of the east and south through the river valleys of the interior. It is less common in the cold north and in the high altitude regions of the west. In China it lives in farmland, open woodland and the edges of towns and villages, where it hunts mice and other small rodents at night. It nests in old buildings, temples and tree hollows and is generally beneficial to farmers as a natural controller of rodent populations.
White tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
The white tailed eagle breeds in small numbers in the far northeast of China, near the Russian border, and is a widespread winter visitor farther south, from the northeastern provinces to the coastal wetlands of the east. Large lakes, river deltas and coastal marshes provide rich feeding grounds in winter, where it hunts fish and waterfowl. It also feeds on carrion. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Crane
Grus grus
China holds both breeding and wintering common cranes. Pairs breed in the wetlands of the far northeast, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and in winter large numbers gather along the Yellow River basin, the North China Plain and farther south at lakes such as Poyang and Caohai in Guizhou, sharing sites with hooded, white naped and black necked cranes. Wetland protection in these areas is key for the species in East Asia. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Stork
Ciconia ciconia
The white stork occurs as a rare visitor to parts of western and northwestern China, occasionally recorded during migration in regions such as Xinjiang. This area sits at the eastern edge of the species' range in central Asia. Sightings are infrequent, and the birds that reach China are likely following migration routes through the Asian flyway rather than forming established wintering or breeding populations in the country.
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
The white wagtail is one of the most familiar small birds across China and is found in virtually every region of the country throughout the warmer months, from the river valleys of the south to the grasslands of the north and the edges of villages and cities across the interior. Several subspecies occur in China due to the country's enormous size and varied geography. It is a common sight near water, along roadsides and in farmland, where it walks quickly and bobs its tail in its characteristic way.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
China hosts several subspecies of the peregrine falcon, with birds breeding across the Tibetan Plateau, the cliffs of Sichuan, and northeastern mountain ranges, while others pass through on migration along the coast and major river valleys. The species adapts well to China's vast and varied terrain. Some individuals have also taken up residence in large cities. Its IUCN status is Least Concern, and populations are considered broadly stable.
Mute Swan
Cygnus olor
The mute swan breeds in parts of northwestern and northeastern China, favoring lakes and wetlands across steppe and semi-arid regions. During winter, birds move south and east, appearing on larger lakes and coastal wetlands. It is one of several swan species found in China, though less numerous than the whooper swan in many areas. The IUCN lists this species as Least Concern.
Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
In China, the nightingale reaches the eastern edge of its range in the far northwest, in Xinjiang, where birds of the central Asian subspecies breed in thickets along desert rivers and in the poplar and tamarisk forests of the river valleys. They arrive in spring after wintering in East Africa. Paler and grayer than European birds, they share the same rusty tail and rich, powerful song. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
In China, the golden eagle lives across a wide sweep of the west and north, from the Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai and Xinjiang to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and the mountains of the northeast. The large Himalayan subspecies, the berkut, hunts pikas, marmots, hares and ground squirrels over high open terrain. It is a nationally protected bird. Pairs keep the same territory for years and often have several nests. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Gyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
China sits at the southern edge of the gyrfalcon's range. The IUCN includes it in the species' resident range, but in practice the bird is a rare visitor seen mostly in winter, when some individuals follow the Amur River into Heilongjiang and the northeast, with occasional reports from Xinjiang. It hunts over open plains and river valleys. Records need care, since saker falcons can look similar. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Eurasian Magpie
Pica pica
The Eurasian magpie has an extensive presence in China, ranging from the northeastern provinces of Manchuria down through central regions and into parts of the west. It thrives in farmland, woodland edges, and the outskirts of towns. In Chinese culture it carries a long tradition of symbolizing good luck and happiness, making it one of the most celebrated birds in the country. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Bearded Vulture
Gypaetus barbatus
China has a large share of the world's bearded vultures, most of them on the Tibetan Plateau and in the mountains of Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Xinjiang. There it soars over high grasslands and gorges where nomads graze yaks and sheep, feeding on their bones and on those of wild animals. It shares the plateau with snow leopards, griffon vultures and yaks. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
In China the great barracuda lives in the warm waters of the South China Sea. It is found on the coral reefs around Hainan Island, especially near Sanya, and around Weizhou Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, where divers meet it alone at the reef edge. It is also present along the coasts of Guangdong and Guangxi, where juveniles shelter in mangroves, and it is a regular catch for fishers in the South China Sea. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Tiger Shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
In China the tiger shark lives in warm coastal and offshore waters, in the South China Sea off Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Island, hunting fish, rays, sea turtles and sea snakes, often close to shore at night. China was long the world's largest market for shark fins. Large sharks have been heavily fished across the region for their fins, and tiger sharks are now seen far less often than in the past. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Reef Shark
Several species (Carcharhinus melanopterus, C. perezi, C. amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus)
In China reef sharks live on the coral reefs of the South China Sea, around the south coast of Hainan Island near Sanya and around Weizhou Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, where blacktip reef sharks use shallow reefs. Decades of heavy fishing have made them rare along the Chinese coast, and the country has long been the world's largest market for shark fins, although demand has fallen since the 2010s. IUCN status: Vulnerable to Endangered, depending on species.
Bull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
In China the bull shark lives along the southern coast, in the South China Sea off Guangdong and Guangxi and around Hainan Island, and it enters the brackish waters of the Pearl River estuary. Young sharks grow up in coastal mangroves. China has long been the world's largest market for shark fins, although demand has dropped since the 2010s, and bull sharks are among the species caught. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals live in China?
China is home to giant pandas, red pandas, Siberian tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards, Asian elephants, Asiatic black bears, brown bears, gray wolves, Eurasian lynx, dholes, moose, yaks, takins, Bactrian camels, Przewalski's horses, pangolins and macaques. Its birds include golden eagles, saker falcons, cranes, storks and the Himalayan monal. Reptiles include king cobras, monitor lizards and sea snakes, and along the coast live sea turtles, barracudas and reef sharks.
What is the Chengdu panda base?
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, in Sichuan, is the most famous place in the world to see giant pandas. It was founded in 1987 with six pandas rescued from the wild, and it now holds more than 200, the largest captive population on Earth. Visitors walk through bamboo gardens to see adults, cubs and red pandas. The best time to go is early in the morning, when the pandas are feeding and most active.
Are there tigers in China?
Yes, but only a few live in the wild. About 70 Siberian tigers, also called Amur tigers, live in the forests of Jilin and Heilongjiang, in the northeast, protected since 2021 by the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park. Their numbers have grown from about 27 a decade earlier. The South China tiger, the country's own, has not been confirmed in the wild for decades and survives only in captivity. The tiger remains one of the most important animals in Chinese culture and the zodiac.
Are there elephants in China?
Yes. Nearly 400 wild Asian elephants live in China, all of them in the south of Yunnan, in Xishuangbanna, Pu'er and Lincang. Their number has grown from about 180 in the 1980s. In 2021 a wandering herd walked more than 1,400 kilometers over 124 days before returning home, and growing numbers have brought more conflict with villages and farms.
Are there venomous snakes in China?
Yes. More than 60 venomous species live in China, among them the king cobra in the warm south and the European adder in the north and west. One review estimates 250,000 to 280,000 bites a year, peaking from April to October, although there is no complete national reporting system and many cases are never recorded.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .