The Giant Panda

Giant Pandas
* The giant panda is one of the rarest animals in the world.
* Giant pandas only live in the wild in China.
* Giant pandas live alone in forests.
* Giant pandas mainly eat bamboo. Sometimes the bamboo dies and the pandas starve.

What do they look like?
Giant pandas are large black and white animals with round heads, small black ears and white faces. They have black patches around each eye. They have short tails. They walk on all fours and can climb trees, often doing so to find a place to sleep. An adult giant panda is about 150 centimetres long and weighs about 90 kilograms, although the biggest one ever weighed was 180 kilograms.

Where do they live?
Giant pandas live alone, in bamboo forests in the mountains of western China. The forests are very dense and the pandas are generally hidden from view, so it has been hard for scientists to learn about the giant panda. Once pandas were widespread throughout China, but the bamboo forests in eastern China have been cut down for farming.

What do they eat?
About 99% of the giant panda's food is bamboo but it also eats grass, roots, plants and even meat. Bamboo is a type of grass that grows as tall as trees. Although there are hundreds of kinds of bamboo, the giant panda eats only 4 or 5 kinds.

Did you know?
It is estimated that a giant panda can chew more than 3,500 stalks of bamboo a day.

How do they eat?
The front paws of the giant panda are specially adapted to help it hold bamboo. There is a bone on each palm which looks like a thumb. The panda's five fingers are wrapped around the bamboo stalk, and the 'thumb' moves forward to jam against the bamboo so that it is firmly held. The giant panda uses its very large teeth, strong jaws and huge cheek muscles to help it crush the hard bamboo.

What are baby pandas like?
Baby pandas are very small when they are born. They only weigh about 120 grams. The mother holds the new baby in her arms in a similar way to a human. The baby panda's eyes open after about 40 days. At one month old the black markings can be seen on their pink skin. At three months old the young pandas are furry, black and white. They crawl when they are about 3-4 months old. At 7 months, a young panda weighs about 9 kilograms, runs and climbs trees, and has started eating bamboo. At about 18 months, it weighs about 55 kilograms, and will soon leave its mother.

Why are Giant pandas endangered?
Giant pandas are endangered because the bamboo forests are being cleared for farming. Different types of bamboo die off every 40 to 100 years and because of the clearing, there are fewer types of bamboo left. Pandas often starve when the bamboo dies off. In the past they were hunted for their fur or were trained as performing circus animals. Giant pandas are now protected by law.
In China, research and breeding centres have been set up to try to save the panda.