The Giant Panda
Description:
The giant panda has white, chubby body with black legs and shoulders. Its face is white with round, black spot at each eye and also has round black ears.
Population of the Giant Panda:
There is estimated to be around one thousand giant pandas left in the wild. They have a population status of extremely endangered. This makes them illegal to kill, hunt or capture them. These cute caring animals need to be protected so if ever you see a giant panda in the zoo don't yell and scream at it for its attention, just leave it alone then it may come closer to you.
The Diet of the Giant Panda:
The giant panda is in fact an omnivore. Most people would think that they would be a herbivore because 98% of the food it consumes is bamboo, but in fact the giant panda sometimes eats insects, eggs, other types of herbs, carrion (meat) or fish. Other foods they consume may include honey, soft bamboo stems, shoots, leaves and other parts of bamboo.
Family: Bear
Common Name: Giant Panda
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda Melanolecuca
Meaning: Black and White Cat-footed Animal
Habitat:
Giant pandas are mostly found in much of Southern and Eastern parts of China as well as in parts of South East Asia.
Behaviour:
In the wild, the giant panda is a terrestrial animal (lives on the land) and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains. Pandas communicate through vocalization and scent marking, such as clawing trees or spraying of urine (pee).
History:
According to the ancient myth, the giant panda is believed to have made its first appearance, perhaps no more or no less than two, to three million years ago.
Facts:
The giant panda is the world’s rarest bear, and is the most restricted in range and habitat. Being confined to pockets of bamboo-rich, upland forests in Central and South/West China.
Local people call the giant panda Bei-Shung, or white bear.
The giant panda can grow up to four to eight feet (one point two, to one point eight metres). They may weigh up to three hundred and fifty pounds (one hundred and sixty kilograms)
Birth:
Female giant pandas can become able to give birth only once a year in the spring. Barking calls and scents draw males and females to each other. Females give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Females may give birth to two young pandas, but usually only one survives.
Breeding:
Female giant pandas undergo estrus cycles of roughly 2 to 3 weeks, although their actual period of receptiveness is only a few days. The increase in estrogen concentrations that comes with the cycle seems to be also associated with unique behaviours. Receptive or soon-to-be receptive females spend more time scent-marking and vocalizing and less time feeding and resting. Pandas usually exhibit a spring breeding season.
Adaptations:
The Giant Panda has many adaptations that helps it survive in the conditions that it lives in. Most of these adaptations are because of the Bamboo that the Panda eats to survive.
The most obvious adaptation to help it eat many different types of Bamboo is its 'sixth toe'. The Giant Panda has five regular appendages that humans would consider toes or fingers. It also has a sixth 'thumb' that allows the Giant Panda to grasp Bamboo better for eating. It also helps the Panda pull the shoots and leaves off of Bamboo stems. The Pandas 'thumb' is actually an extension of the wrist bone. It is a very important adaptation for the Panda to be able to eat so much Bamboo.
The Giant Panda Bears head is also an adaptation to eating Bamboo. Giant Pandas are in the bear family. The Giant Panda has a very large head compared to the other species in its family. The head is so large because Bamboo is a very strong, hard plant. The Panda needs very strong jaw muscles to chew the Bamboo therefore the head has gotten larger to accommodate the larger jaw muscles. If the jaw muscles were not this strong, the Giant Panda would die off because Bamboo is its main source of food.
The Giant Panda has a specialized digestive system for eating Bamboo as well. Bamboo is a very hard, tough plant and therefore doesn't go down as smoothly as say, meat. The Giant Pandas esophagus has developed a very strong lining so that when Bamboo goes down it, it won't rip or tear. The same goes for the stomach. The stomach of Giant Pandas is very strong and muscular. Bamboo isn't easy to digest, so the stomach has to be stronger than the normal bear stomach to avoid any unwanted problems with digestion. The intestine of the Panda is short compared to other bears. It is short because the Bamboo has a lot of cellulose in it, and goes straight through the body. Because the intestines are so short, the colon is much larger than other bears colons. The Giant Panda only drinks about once a day, so it does not produce waste as frequently as other bears. Cellulose is also the majority of Bamboo, so it passes straight through the body. The colon needs to be bigger also because of how much the Panda is putting into its body compared to how much it gets rid of wastes.
The giant panda has white, chubby body with black legs and shoulders. Its face is white with round, black spot at each eye and also has round black ears.
Population of the Giant Panda:
There is estimated to be around one thousand giant pandas left in the wild. They have a population status of extremely endangered. This makes them illegal to kill, hunt or capture them. These cute caring animals need to be protected so if ever you see a giant panda in the zoo don't yell and scream at it for its attention, just leave it alone then it may come closer to you.
The Diet of the Giant Panda:
The giant panda is in fact an omnivore. Most people would think that they would be a herbivore because 98% of the food it consumes is bamboo, but in fact the giant panda sometimes eats insects, eggs, other types of herbs, carrion (meat) or fish. Other foods they consume may include honey, soft bamboo stems, shoots, leaves and other parts of bamboo.
Family: Bear
Common Name: Giant Panda
Scientific Name: Ailuropoda Melanolecuca
Meaning: Black and White Cat-footed Animal
Habitat:
Giant pandas are mostly found in much of Southern and Eastern parts of China as well as in parts of South East Asia.
Behaviour:
In the wild, the giant panda is a terrestrial animal (lives on the land) and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains. Pandas communicate through vocalization and scent marking, such as clawing trees or spraying of urine (pee).
History:
According to the ancient myth, the giant panda is believed to have made its first appearance, perhaps no more or no less than two, to three million years ago.
Facts:
The giant panda is the world’s rarest bear, and is the most restricted in range and habitat. Being confined to pockets of bamboo-rich, upland forests in Central and South/West China.
Local people call the giant panda Bei-Shung, or white bear.
The giant panda can grow up to four to eight feet (one point two, to one point eight metres). They may weigh up to three hundred and fifty pounds (one hundred and sixty kilograms)
Birth:
Female giant pandas can become able to give birth only once a year in the spring. Barking calls and scents draw males and females to each other. Females give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Females may give birth to two young pandas, but usually only one survives.
Breeding:
Female giant pandas undergo estrus cycles of roughly 2 to 3 weeks, although their actual period of receptiveness is only a few days. The increase in estrogen concentrations that comes with the cycle seems to be also associated with unique behaviours. Receptive or soon-to-be receptive females spend more time scent-marking and vocalizing and less time feeding and resting. Pandas usually exhibit a spring breeding season.
Adaptations:
The Giant Panda has many adaptations that helps it survive in the conditions that it lives in. Most of these adaptations are because of the Bamboo that the Panda eats to survive.
The most obvious adaptation to help it eat many different types of Bamboo is its 'sixth toe'. The Giant Panda has five regular appendages that humans would consider toes or fingers. It also has a sixth 'thumb' that allows the Giant Panda to grasp Bamboo better for eating. It also helps the Panda pull the shoots and leaves off of Bamboo stems. The Pandas 'thumb' is actually an extension of the wrist bone. It is a very important adaptation for the Panda to be able to eat so much Bamboo.
The Giant Panda Bears head is also an adaptation to eating Bamboo. Giant Pandas are in the bear family. The Giant Panda has a very large head compared to the other species in its family. The head is so large because Bamboo is a very strong, hard plant. The Panda needs very strong jaw muscles to chew the Bamboo therefore the head has gotten larger to accommodate the larger jaw muscles. If the jaw muscles were not this strong, the Giant Panda would die off because Bamboo is its main source of food.
The Giant Panda has a specialized digestive system for eating Bamboo as well. Bamboo is a very hard, tough plant and therefore doesn't go down as smoothly as say, meat. The Giant Pandas esophagus has developed a very strong lining so that when Bamboo goes down it, it won't rip or tear. The same goes for the stomach. The stomach of Giant Pandas is very strong and muscular. Bamboo isn't easy to digest, so the stomach has to be stronger than the normal bear stomach to avoid any unwanted problems with digestion. The intestine of the Panda is short compared to other bears. It is short because the Bamboo has a lot of cellulose in it, and goes straight through the body. Because the intestines are so short, the colon is much larger than other bears colons. The Giant Panda only drinks about once a day, so it does not produce waste as frequently as other bears. Cellulose is also the majority of Bamboo, so it passes straight through the body. The colon needs to be bigger also because of how much the Panda is putting into its body compared to how much it gets rid of wastes.