The Giant Panda
Introdution
The Giant Panda is critically endangered and lives in thick bamboo forests of south western China. The lastest research suggest that there is 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild. They are one of the rarest animals in the world and they are a mammal.
Desription
Diet
Giant Pandas are one of three animals that eat bamboo. They are omnivore which means they eat meat and plants. Their diet is 99% bamboo, water, milk, grass, roots, plants, meat, flowers, berries, small animals, mice and sometimes even eggs. They eat up to 12 hours a day. They insist on eating 3,500 sticks of bamboo a day. IN captivity pandas are provided with more nutritious alternatives such as apples, carrots, bananas, oranges, warm rice, sugar cane and also sweet potato. They catch their food by finding it then grabbing it then they hide and eat it once they are out of sight of predators.
Habitat
Giant Pandas like to live in thick bamboo forests. These native animals are very shy and are hard to see especially in Winter. Giant Pandas live by themselves. In there bamboo forest
Appearance
The Giant Panda is black and white and has got two black ears. They have two black patches around each eye and has black eyes. The panda has a black nose, two legs and two arms. They have a short white tail and can grow up to four to five feet.
Behaviour, Movement and Communication
The Giant Panda hardly ever fights. They can sometimes cry and yell really loud. They walk on all fours and rarely even break into a jog! They mark their territory with a sticky smelly scent which tells other pandas to run to avoid meeting another panda. That scent can even tell the other pandas if they are male or female. The scent comes in handy when pandas are looking to mate.
Life Cycle
Giant Panda babies are called cubs. They are born alive with fur. Every few years a male and female come together to mate. The female is pregnant for five months. The mother has her cubs in Spring. The mother has up to five cubs in her lifetime. When the cub is born it weighs around 120 grams. They are born with their eyes shut. She gives birth to one or two cubs sometimes even three but three is rare to have. The cub drinks milk when born. The holds the cubs a similar way to humans. They start to crawl at three to four months old. They eat bamboo from seven months old, a young panda weighs around 9kg, runs and climbs trees. At 18 months the panda is ready to leave its mother. The Giant Panda can live up to 25 years although the oldest one has lived to 30 years.
Conclusion
The Giant Pandas forests have been cleared for farming. Every 40 – 100 years bamboo dies off. There are fewer types of bamboo left. They are hunted for their precious fur and skin. They used to be a circus animal but they are protected by law thanks to the Chinese Government. Chinaresearch centre setup. They are trying to breed them there. Good progress there. There are around 300 Giant Pandas in captivity. You can help out by adopting a panda at San Diego Zoo, World Wildlife Fund or Adelaide Zoo from just $35.
By Dominic
