Giant pandas are intriguing mammals that are quickly nearing extinction. Giant pandas are a species that lives in Sichuan, China.The giant pandas live alone; they live in forests and mountains.There are only 600-1000 pandas left alive in the wild today. Giant pandas are unique animals that need to be protected before they become extinct.
Giant pandas have thick, oily black and white fur to keep them warm. All pandas have pelts that are a little bit different. According to http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/panda.htm, “They have plantigrade feet, that is both heel and toe touch the ground.” From their heads to their tails is about 47-59 inches. From their paws to their shoulders is about 27-31 in. Pandas weigh about 165-353 pounds.Their life span is about 30 years. Females take 7 years to mature and males take 5 years.Then they go out for around 25 years. According to the same website scientists are still working on what species pandas are. Pandas look like bears but they aren’t. The proof is that the pandas skull structure, behavior and teeth are different. Some of the things that make them stand out are: in mating season female pandas climb up in trees while males fight over her, and when pandas mark their territory they do a hand stand and pee on walls to make them seem bigger. Soon after these things, cubs are born.
Adult pandas live alone except for when they have cubs. Males are not involved in this part of the cycle. Adult pandas and babies sleep half the time and eat most of their waking hours. Females give birth to 1or 2 babies at a time. “In the wild she would only care for one of the two babies. One baby alone is a lot of work for it. In zoos the keepers would alternate the two babies so they could get the nourishment they need.” According to http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giant_panda.html, newborns are about as long as a pencil with some fuzzy white fur. After about 5 days though, you can see where it will have its white fur and black fur. “Pandas really like to play. when pandas are little the mom and the cub play; playing helps the cub learn,” said Star Fleur who wrote Watch Me grow: Panda.
Pandas like to eat fish, small rodents and bamboo. They are carnivores and they can stay away from food for 10 hours at a time. Considering that bamboo is a panda’s favorite food and it is low on nutrients and energy, that’s a long time. Pandas need to have lots of water and food; that is why in the wild pandas live near rivers and bamboo forests. They live at a higher elevation because bamboo grows at an elevation of 3,000-10,000 feet. A panda can eat 30-40 pounds of food a day and 2 gallons of water. Actually males sit down when they are eating because they are heavier.
According to http://www.chinaunique.com/Panda/pandaedu.htm, Pandas live in forested mountains in China. Young pandas like to rest in trees, older pandas rest in bamboo groves or rock dens. Giant pandas used to live all around East Asia. Sichuan province, the only place that giant pandas live now, was reduced to half its size between 1924 and 1989. Thus making their habitat much smaller.
There are many reasons for panda endangerment. One of the reasons is poaching. Poachers will kill pandas and bring them to the black market at huge risks. The penalty can be 12 years in jail or death, according to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_bamboo_does_a_giant_panda_eat_in_one_day.
Another reason that pandas are endangered is because of habitat loss. In 2008, the Sichuan earthquake hit 80 percent of the panda habitat and 10 percent was destroyed. Twenty-seven reserves were also hit and destroyed. A few pandas were even killed. The human population in China is also growing and that is not good for the pandas. They don’t like being near humans which is causing them to move in on each other’s territory. This could make pandas restless.
Another cause of endangerment is food loss. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake also caused major food loss for the pandas. About every 100 years whole bamboo forests die. They grow back again though. However, it is a major threat to them. Fortunately, bamboo can grow up to 3 feet in a day.
The last reason for endangerment is a low reproductive rate. There are only 3 days in the whole year that pandas can mate. If they don’t mate in those few days females miss out on cubs that year. Since only 1 out of 2 cubs that can be born stays alive. This also produces a threat.
Pandas are the worlds most famous endangered animal. People need to work to remove pandas from the endangered list. There are many ways to help pandas. One can go on to the internet and donate to organizations that work to protect pandas. People can also adopt a panda through these sites. God created pandas for us to enjoy and we need to be a part of keeping them safe.
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