The giant panda is an animal from China. He is an endangered bear who lives in mountains and bamboo forests. The panda is different from other bears. It has cat like eyes and unusual hands with five clawed fingers. Giant pandas are mostly shy, solitary animals. They live most of their lives alone.
Pandas are black and white. In China, they are called ‘Da xiong mao’ which means ‘giant bear cat’ in Chinese. A female panda is called a sow and a male panda is called a boar. Their young are known as cubs. Female pandas weigh about 80 kgs and the males weigh about 100 kgs. They have sharp teeth. They have round eyes. Their cubs are small, white, blind and helpless at birth. Giant panda cubs grow very slowly. They are lighter than an apple at birth.
In Latin, they are called ‘Ailuronodo Melanolenia’. Pandas eat about 18 kg of food a day. They eat bamboo. Bamboo species go through periodic die-offs after they flower. Pandas usually eat while sitting in an upright position. Sitting this way, they can use their front paws to hold their food.
There are roughly 1000 – 1500 Pandas living in the wild (in China). There are about 120 living in Zoos and breeding centres around the world. This species are extremely vulnerable to extinction of humans. This makes me sad. We should stop cutting down forests.