giant pands
GIANT PANDA
This peaceful creature with a distinctive black and white coat is adored by the world and considered a national treasure in China.
The rarest member of the bear family, pandas live mainly in bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China, where they subsist almost entirely on bamboo. They must eat from 26 to 84 pounds of it every day.
Newborn pandas are about the size of a stick of butter but can grow to up to 330 pounds as adults. These bears are excellent tree-climbers despite their bulk.
As China’s unofficial mascot and the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world. It is also one of the more endangered species in the world, with only about 1600 living in the wild.
Conservation efforts and breeding programs are currently in place to restore panda populations to their native habitat in the mountain forests of southwest China.
Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white. Their thick hair keeps them warm in the cool, wet mountain zones. When on all fours, giant pandas average between 60-100 cm (2-3 ft.) tall at the shoulder and between 1-2 m (4-6 ft.) long. They can weigh between 100-115 kg (220-250 lb.), with males being larger than females.
One of the interesting evolutionary traits of the panda is their protruding wrist bone that acts like a thumb. This helps the pandas hold bamboo while they munch on it with their strong molar teeth. Bamboo makes up nearly the entire diet of the panda. Due to the low nutritional value of bamboo, pandas need to eat 10-20 kg (20-40 lb.) a day. Occasionally pandas will eat other available food, including small rodents, eggs, fish and other flora. Bamboo provides a good amount of water, but pandas need to supplement this with fresh water daily.
When pandas are between 4-8 years of age, they reach maturity and can
This peaceful creature with a distinctive black and white coat is adored by the world and considered a national treasure in China.
The rarest member of the bear family, pandas live mainly in bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China, where they subsist almost entirely on bamboo. They must eat from 26 to 84 pounds of it every day.
Newborn pandas are about the size of a stick of butter but can grow to up to 330 pounds as adults. These bears are excellent tree-climbers despite their bulk.
As China’s unofficial mascot and the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world. It is also one of the more endangered species in the world, with only about 1600 living in the wild.
Conservation efforts and breeding programs are currently in place to restore panda populations to their native habitat in the mountain forests of southwest China.
Giant pandas are identified by their distinctive black and white coloring. Their ears, muzzle, eyes, shoulders and legs are black while the rest of their body is white. Their thick hair keeps them warm in the cool, wet mountain zones. When on all fours, giant pandas average between 60-100 cm (2-3 ft.) tall at the shoulder and between 1-2 m (4-6 ft.) long. They can weigh between 100-115 kg (220-250 lb.), with males being larger than females.
One of the interesting evolutionary traits of the panda is their protruding wrist bone that acts like a thumb. This helps the pandas hold bamboo while they munch on it with their strong molar teeth. Bamboo makes up nearly the entire diet of the panda. Due to the low nutritional value of bamboo, pandas need to eat 10-20 kg (20-40 lb.) a day. Occasionally pandas will eat other available food, including small rodents, eggs, fish and other flora. Bamboo provides a good amount of water, but pandas need to supplement this with fresh water daily.
When pandas are between 4-8 years of age, they reach maturity and can