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EnchantedLearning.com All About Pandas The Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca |
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Giant pandas are black-and-white Chinese bears that are on the verge of extinction. These large, cuddly-looking mammals have a big head, a heavy body, rounded ears, and a short tail.
The Chinese people call the panda "Da xiong mao," which means "giant bear cat" in Chinese. The panda is a symbol of peace in China.
This bear is quite different from other bears. It has unusual cat-like eyes, and its front paws have an opposable "thumb."
Female pandas are called sows, males are called boars, and the young are called cubs.
EYES
Most bears' eyes have round pupils. The exception is the giant panda, whose pupils are vertical slits, like cats' eyes. These unusual eyes inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "giant cat bear."
Pandas have very good eyesight.
COLOR
Giant pandas are white with black patches around the eyes, ears, shoulders, chest, legs, and feet. This black-and-white coloring may camouflage (hide) the panda in the snowy, rocky environment.
SIZE
The largest pandas grow to be about 250 pounds (115 kg), about the weight of a large adult human. They are about 5.25 to 6 feet (1.6 to 1.8 m) long. The average adult male panda grows to be about 3 feet (1 m) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 220 pounds (100 kg). The average adult female panda grows to be about 2.5 feet (80 cm) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 180 pounds (80 kg). The panda's tail is about 6 inches (16 cm) long.
| Adult Giant Panda | Weight | Height (at shoulder) | Length (snout to tail) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 180 pounds (80 kg) | 2.5 feet (80 cm) | 5.25 feet (1.8 m) |
| Male | 220 pounds (100 kg) | 3 feet (1 m) | 6 feet (1.8 m) |
Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears. Their diet is almost exclusively two species of bamboo (arrow and umbrella bamboo).
Other problems with a bamboo diet:
Since pandas spend most of their time eating tough, nutrition-poor bamboo, strong teeth and jaws are very important to a panda's survival. Giant pandas have large molars (flat teeth used for crushing food). They also have a few sharp teeth which they use to bite tough bamboo stalks. Pandas have 42 teeth. They also have strong jaw muscles which they use for chewing tough bamboo.
Pandas have very thick, oily, woolly fur that keeps them warm in their cold, wet mountain habitat. Their fur is made of two types of hairs; there are long, thick, coarse hairs and a shorter, fine, dense underfur. This fur is waterproof.
In the wild, giant pandas only live in a few mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.
Giant panda bears are mostly silent, but they can bleat! They don't roar like other bears, but they do have 11 different calls, four of which are only used during mating.
The giant panda seems to have evolved during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene, roughly two to three million years ago. During those times, the giant panda's range extended throughout southern China. Panda fossils have been found in eastern China (as far north as Beijing) , Burma, and Vietnam.
The giant panda is considered a true bear (before recent genetic studies, it was thought to be a member of the raccoon family). It belongs to the:
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