Panda 1: Pandas eat Bamboo
In one paw, it holds a cluster of bamboo branches. The panda pulls off the leaves with the other paw and eat them. it removes the bamboo bark with it teeth.
If there is not enough bamboo, a panda will eat other plants, such as irises or clover. A pandas spends much of its time eating It will take the panda all day ti eat its fill.
[A panda eats not only bamboo branches, but also bamboo leaves, shoots and stems. the leaves are the easiest part for the panda's stomach to digest.]
Panda 2: Panda Means the"Great Bear-Cat" in Chinese
Thousands of year ago, the chinese tooksnote of an unusual black and white creature roaming in the mountain near Tibet. Today, English speakers call the daxiongmao, the "great bear-cat."
Westerners first became aware of giant pandas in 1869. scientific name ailuropoda melanoleuca. it is a latin name that ckassifies the panda with bears. It means "cat-footed black and white" animal.
Panda 3: Pandas are a Flagship species
Pandas are called a flagship species because they draw attention to the cause of animal conservation through theiruniqe behaviors or appearance. In some ways, they are representatives for other animals and forms of wildlife that share their habitats by bringing attention to them.
[Along with pandas, other flagship species include marine turtles, great apes and polar bears.]
Panda 4: Panda Sanctuaries Protect Endangered Animals
About one-third of the world's pandas live in the sichuan Giant panda Sanctuaries, which are located in the Qionglai and Jiajin mountains of central China. The sanctuaries have seven nature reserves and nine wildlife parls and cover a huge expanse of land: 2,283 acres (924 hectares). In these protected places, the giant panda shares life with other endangered species, such as the snowleopard, the red panda, and the clouded leopard
Panda 5: Pandas Experience Stress
The first pandas in the united states were Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. They were able to produce offspring at the National Zoo in Washinngton DC, but the cubs did not survive beyond a few weeks. Unfortunately, Ling-Ling And Hsing-Hsing's difficulties were common to oother pandas that had tried to mate and raise their young captivity. Experts discovered that pandas, especially males, experience a lot of stress when they are kept for long periods in small areas. Pandas prefer to live away from people and they live alone in nature as adults.
PANDAS BIOLOGY
Panda 6: Pandas are shaped like other bears
Pandas are usually between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) long. A full-grown panda can weigh 165 to 350 pounds (75 to 160 kilograms). Their shape is very similar to that of other bears, which means their bodies are round in the middle. Pandas have a short, wide tail and a large, round head.
[Pandas have plantigrade feet. This means that the entire foot- toes and heel-touch the ground when walking. This is similar to the way humans, other bears and many rodents walk. Other animals, such as dogs, cats or horses walk with their weight on their toes.]
Panda 7: Some Pandas Look Like Raccoons
Although the red panda shares a name wih the giant panda, it is more closely related to weasels and skunks. It is also called the lesser panda, and is much smaller than giant panda. Its features resemble a raccoon. It has reddish brown fur with a black lower section and a long, fluffy, striped tail.
Red Pandas Weigh about 7 to 20 pounds (3 to 9 kilograms). Red pandas live in the mountains of China. Like giant pandas, they eat bamboo, but they also like berries, acorns and bird eggs.
[Bamboo is actually a grass. There are more than seven hundred kinds of bamboo]
Panda 8: Bamboo Is a Large Part of a Panda's Diet
Wild pandas live almost entirely on bamboo. They will occasionallyeat fish and small rodents. Still, bamboo makes up between 95 and 99 percent of their daily diet. Long ago, pandas were carnivores that ate meat, but over time they have come to live mostly on bamboo. There are several hundred types of bamboo. Pandas eat many varieties, but they have two favorites: arrow bamboo and umbrella bamboo.
Because their digestive systems were made for meat, pandas do not take in nutrients easily from their purely vegetarian diet. Pandas must eat an enormous amount of bamboo does not have a high nutritional value, so an adult panda eats between 25 and 80 pounds of bamboo each day, including the leaves, stalks, and young shoots.
[Bamboo leaves contain a lot protein and also provide the panda with a source of water. There are twenty-five bamboo species that pandas eat, but only a few are abundant in the mountains where they live.]
