mk-giant-panda

Title: Giant Panda by Monica Kelly Scientific Name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Physical description: Large with black legs and black across their shoulders, but the torso is white.They have a round head with small black ears, their faces are white with black pathes around the eyes.

Size: Very large, five to six feet long when full grown. average weight is from 200-300 pounds.

Average lifespan: In the wild they live about 15 years, and 20 years is the average when in captivity.

Habitat: Bamboo forests. Range: The bamboo forests on mountain slopes of western and soutwestern China.

Diet: Bamboo shoots, stems, and leaves is all that giant pandas eat; they have to be eating for 12 hours of the day. However, they sometimes eat small rodents or eggs.

Behavior & adaptations to its way of life: An adaptation for a Giant Panda is its extra thumb on its wrist to hold the bamboo shoots while it eats.

How it reproduces: The females have one cub at a time once a year, the cub nurses for one year. When the baby pandas are born the are only about five ounces, the female bear doesnt eat for ten days so it can nurse the tiny cub can get its strength. Relationship to other animals (predator/prey, parasite, etc.): Their prey are the occasional rodent or egg. We, the humans, are these animals only predator.

Relationship to people: Humans made them endangered, now some humans are protecting them

History: They appear starting 2 or 3 milion years ago. Scientists have debated for a century whether they are bears, raccoons, or their own family. Now Giant Pandas are classified as bears whereas red pandas are classified as raccoons.

Status: The Giant Pandas are endangered.

Citations: World Book 2004, Volume 15P.