Background Ticks and tick-borne diseases have negative impacts on the health of wild animals including endangered and vulnerable species. The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), one of the iconic flagship species, is threatened by tick infestation as well. Ticks can not only cause anemia and immunosuppression, but also bacterial and viral disease of giant pandas. However, many previous studies about ticks on giant pandas were only limited in scope as case reports of ill or dead animals. Methods In this study, an investigation about ticks on a reintroduced giant panda at Daxiangling Reintroduction Base in Sichuan of China was conducted. Ticks were collected daily and identified from the ears of the giant panda from March to September in 2021. A linear model was used to test the correlation between daily tick abundance and climate factors. Result All ticks were identified as Ixodes ovatus. The daily average of tick population was 6.78 (95% CI: 6.17–7.39) including 1.79 daily males (95% CI: 1.61–1.98) and 4.99 for females (95% CI: 4.53–5.44). Tick abundance was significantly different among months. Tick abundance increased from March and reached the highest point in June and July, then it decreased until September. Results from linear model showed that the temperature positively correlated to tick abundance while air pressure had a negative correlation with tick abundance. Conclusions This study investigated tick species and abundance on a giant panda living in the natural environment for the first time, which provided important information for the conservation of giant pandas and other species sharing the same environment.

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