FACTS ABOUT PANDAS |
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Facts on Pandas, All pandas are on loan from China. About 2,000 pandas are founnd in the wild. 99% of Pandas diet consists on bamboo they eat other vegatation, fish or small animals. Pandas eat fast they eat a lot. And they spend 12 hours a day doing it. Body Size and WeightThey are considered as the largest bears of there family. A mature panda can attain 4 to 6 feet. The adults have the tail size of up to 15 centimeter. With the maximum body weight of 160 kg, the males are heavier than the females as the latter can weigh only up to 125kg. The weigh of females can suprisly be as low as 70kg. Where do Giant Pandas sleep?Unlike bears panda bears do not hibernate during winter months, but instead migrate short distances to lower elevations. The reason why they dont hibernate is because they wont stop eating. The low nutritional value of bamboo prevents them from building fat reserves to last them through the winter.
Where do Gaint pandas live ?They live in bammboo forests in remote mountanous reigon of western China. Most can be found in Sichuan province, but they also inhabit areas in the neighbouring provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. The wet and cool enviorment provides a habitat for Giant Pandas that feed almost exclusively on Bamboo.
What do Gaint pandas eat?Giant Pandas are omnivores which means their diet consists of both vegatation and meat, but bamboo is their favorite food to eat. Bamboo is in low nutrients so they need to eat a lot to survive, they can spend 12 to 16 hours a day eating, consuming 44lb (20 kg) of bamboo. Shoots when available, are eaten are eaten first because it has more nutrients also leaves and stems.
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When do Gaint Pandas give birth?Female Giant pandas start reproduceing when they are 6-7 years old and generally have cubs every two years. They mate in spring (march to may) and gives birth five months later ina nest of bamboo. In the wild, its rare for Gaint Pandas to give birth to twins, but it has known in captivity. Gaint Pandas are born blind and approximately 1/900 of the size of their mothers. Babies remain with their mother for 18 months.
What color are pandas when they are born?Gaint pandas are born white and develope black and white coloring later.
Do Gaint pandas have predators?Gaint pandas are strong with powerful jaws, so few animals will risk attacking them. However, young pandas are more venerable and at risk from predators, including Jackles, snowleopards and yellow throated martens.
What is the biggest threat to Gaint Pandas?with only about 1,000 gaint pandas left in the wild, they are considerd endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list of threatend species. Gaint pandas were once hunted by Chinese, who belived their pelts provided magical protection against evil spirits, but hunting now carries strict penalties in China, so is less of a conversation issue now. Humans and destruction of habitat now pose the biggest threat to gaint pandas. This includes erosion habitat due to clearing of areas for crop cultivation, and natural die-black of bamboo. The presence of built up areas prevent giant pandas from moving to new areas, so loss of bammboo forests mean many will survive.
What is being done to help?Gaint Pandas conservation is high priority, and consequently many measures have been put in place to help increase numbers. Scientists around the world are studying their ecology and behaviour and instituting conservation programs. An example is the panda reserve system which was established as part The National Conservation Project for the Giant Panda and its Habitat of 1992. Today there are around 67 reserves.Human interaction within reserves is minimised, and infrastructure is limited as is removal of trees and thus giant panda habitat. The creation of bamboo corridors between built up areas also gives giant pandas more freedom and enables them to move between habitats to find food and mates.
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