Animals & Nature
Learn About Pandas the Giant Cat Bear
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The Chinese word for Panda is "Xiongmao" or Giant Cat Bear.
Panda Bears, cute and adorable, are on the endangered species list. Their habitat, extremely limited diet and poor reproductive and infant survival combine to extremely threaten their survival.There are two kinds of Pandas. The giant white and black Panda is the one that comes to mind for most of us. But, there is also the Red Panda which is also called the lesser Panda.
There are very few Pandas left in the wild and zoologists have been largely unsuccessful in breeding them in captivity up to now. The Chinese government has taken steps to protect these endangered animals.
Pandas are only found in a relatively small area in Asia. They date back two to three million years ago. Ancient chinese history and writings abound with mention of the Panda. They were kept by emperors and their hides were highly valued. They carried a mystique and were believed to be able to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters.
Pandas live in and around mountainous slopes and exist on a diet largely comprised of bamboo shoots. They eat most of the day to consume the food they need for survival. There are about fifteen types of bamboo, reach with varying life cycles. Panda Bears eat primarily bamboo shoots. As die-offs in the bamboo cycle occur, the panda population also fall.
Westerners, in particular Americans, have a strong fondness for these cute creatures. If you talk to a Chinese person, they do not share this same fondness and wonder why we take such a liking to them.
There are as few as 1,600 pandas left in the wild.
2. The giant panda has the largest molar teeth of any of the carnivores.
3. Although classed as a carnivore, the panda's diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo and it usually spends 14 hours a day eating.
4. Pandas stand on their head and forelegs to place scent high up on tree trunks.
5. The forepaws of the panda have an extra "thumb" which, when used in conjunction with its "forefingers," enables the panda to grasp even small bamboo shoots with precision.
6. The panda does not hibernate because it cannot store enough fat on a bamboo diet.
7. Pandas usually roam in the forest, but mothers will stay in caves or hollow trees when giving birth and remain there for three to four months after their babies are born.
8. The giant panda was unknown in the Western world until 1869, when a skin was found by Pére David, a French missionary.
9. Pandas are good at climbing trees. They can also swim.
10. Pandas like to live alone and will not often meet other pandas unless they get together during the mating season.
11. A day-old panda looks rather like a small white rat and weighs about 3.5 ounces, about 1/900 of the mother's body weight.
12. A female panda only comes into season for 72 hours a year.
13. Pandas can live for about 20 years in the wild.
14. Female pandas can start to give birth at 4-5 years old. A female can have 5-8 babies in the wild.
15. Pandas have occurred on earth for over 3 million years. They are called "living fossils" because many species that survived together with pandas in the past, such as stegodon (a big tusked elephant) and Chinese rhinos, are extinct already.
16. It is very difficult to see a panda in the wild because they live in thick bamboo, mostly in old-growth forests - their favorite habitat.
Pandas
Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas
From Library Journal
Wild panda populations remain in only a few mountain ranges in central China, and their natural environment is shrinking as humans bring about environmental changes.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/10/2008)
Why Pandas Do Handstands: And Other Curious Truths About Animals
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Pandas (WorldLife Library)
Amazon.com
This beautifully photographed book covers the panda's home and habits, feeding behavior, breeding, and survival in the face of human encroachment and deforestation. The author traveled to remote areas of China to photograph the elusive, endangered giant panda--it took her eight trips to find one. Her photos of both giant and red pandas in the wild are incredible, both fortifying and belying the image most Westerners have of cute, cuddly zoo animals. This is a fascinating introduction to a disappearing species.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/10/2008)
Giant pandas generally avoid contacting with each other in the wild.
Giant pandas generally avoid contacting with each other in the wild. In their dense habitat their coat may help make animals conspicuous to each other and prevent them from surprising themselves by approaching too close to another of their own kind.
Pandas signify aggression by lowering their heads and staring at their opponents. To signal submissiveness, a panda will put its head between its front legs, often hind its eye-patches with its paws. This position is adopted by females during mating, and also by captive animals that are being harassed by humans--particularly vets with anaesthetic darts. At close range aggression is signaled by a swipe with a paw, or by a low-pitched growl or bark that will send an opponent scampering up the nearest tree.
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To ensure the survival of pandas, the Chinese government issued a
National Conservation Management Plan for the Giant Panda and its Habitat"
The Plan has Contents:
- Reduction of human activities in the panda habitat
- Removal of human settlements
- Modification of forestry operations
- Control of poaching
- Rehabilitation of habitat
- Management of bamboo habitat
- Extension of the panda Reserve system
- Achieving outbreeding between panda populations
- Maintaining a captive population
- Release of captive-born pandas into the wild
Too Cute and Funny
Webkinz Black And White Panda Plush
Amazon Price: $8.29 (as of 10/10/2008)
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