GIANT
PANDA
A.
Panda
in General
The panda
(Ailuropoda melanoleuca, lit. "black and white cat-foot"), also known as the giant panda to distinguish it from the
unrelated red panda,
is a bear[3]
native to central-western and south western China. It is easily
recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the
ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora,
the panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other
grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or carrion. In
captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or
bananas along with specially prepared food.
The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in
central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi
and Gansu
provinces.
The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species.[4]
A 2007 report shows 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27
outside the country.[9]
Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590
individuals living in the wild,[9]
while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure
could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000.[10]
Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise.
B.
Appreance
Panda is easily recognized by its
large,. The giant panda has a black-and-white coat. Adults measure around 1.2
to 1.8 m (4 to 6 ft) long, including a tail of about 13 cm (5.1 in),
and 60 to 90 cm (2.0 to 3.0 ft) tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to
160 kg (350 lb). Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can
weigh as little as 75 kg (170 lb), but can also weigh up to
125 kg (280 lb). Average adult weight is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 250
lb). The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its
ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal's
coat is white. The giant panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool
forests of its habitat. It has large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for
crushing tough bamboo. The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five
fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which
helps it to hold bamboo while eating. The giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to
15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second longest in the bear family. The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up
to 30 years in captivity.
C.
Behavior
In the wild, the giant
panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its
life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in
the hilly Sichuan Province.[24]
Giant pandas are generally solitary,[25]
and each adult has a defined territory, and a female is not tolerant of other
females in her range. Pandas communicate through vocalization and scent marking
such as clawing trees or spraying urine.[4]
They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but
do not establish permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate,
which is similar to other subtropical mammals, and will instead move to
elevations with warmer temperatures.
D. Feed
Though it belongs to the order
Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild will occasionally
eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or
carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves,
oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.
Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, such as
Freesia dracocephala and Freesia ruff.
Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes pandas now
inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less. The
average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 30 lb) of
bamboo shoots a day. Given this large diet, the giant panda can defecate up to
40 times a day.
E.
Habitat
The giant panda lives in a few
mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the
Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. As a result of farming, deforestation and other
development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once
lived. Panda also lives in conservation zoo in many country, like at National
Zoo in Washington, D.C, USA and at San
Diego Zoo, USA. But there are some
breeding centers such as Adventure World, Shirahama , Wakayama , Jepang, Kebun Binatang Taipei , Taipei , Taiwan, Zoologischer Garten Berlin , Berlin,
Jerman, Tiergarten Schönbrunn , Wina, Austria.
F.
LifeCycle
Giant pandas reach sexual maturity
between the ages of four and eight, and may be reproductive until age 20. The
mating season is between March and May, when a female goes into estrus, which
lasts for two or three days and only occurs once a year. When mating, the
female is in a crouching, head-down position as the male mounts her from
behind. Copulation time is short, ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes, but
the male may mount her repeatedly to ensure successful fertilization. The
gestation period ranges from 95 to 160 days. If twins are born, usually only
one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and
the weaker will die. The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for
two cubs, since she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise
the cub.
When the cub is first born, it is
pink, blind, and toothless, weighing only 90 to 130 grams (3.2 to
4.6 ounces), or about 1/800th of the mother's weight. It nurses
from its mother's breast six to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time.
For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed, which leaves the
cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns gray where
its hair will eventually become black. A slight pink color may appear on cub's
fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's
saliva. A month after birth, the color pattern of the cub's fur is fully
developed. Its fur is very soft and coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl
at 75 to 80 days; mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with
them. The cubs are able to eat small quantities of bamboo after six months,
though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first
year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year, and live
with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old. The interval
between births in the wild is generally two years.
If twins are born, usually only one survives in the
wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker will die.
The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for two cubs, since
she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise the cub.
G. Unique Facts
There are some unique facts about panda,
they are :
Ø
Panda is the great
climber.
Ø
When panda eats bamboo,
it has to sit to eat it.
Ø
Panda really loves its
family and it always plays and wrests together.
Ø
Panda is the main actor
in kungfu panda film.
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