Pandas are black and white, and they are large animals. The word “panda” means bamboo eater; and that word came from Nepal, a country in the Himalayan Mountains of Asia. In China they call the panda “da-shung-mao” which means the “big bear-cats” or “daxiongmao” which also means “big bear-cat”. An adult panda can eat up to forty pounds of bamboo a day. Pandas also eat grass, wild flowers, and wild mushrooms. Sometimes, while eating bamboo, they accidentally eat a careless bamboo rat. In the summer, sometimes pandas leave the forest and go and raid beehives in search of honey. Did you know that the giant panda eats meat? It scavenges the ground for dead animals. They also go to a mountain stream and try to catch a fish. When a panda is really thirsty it can drink and drink and drink until they are about to burst. Pandas have been found lying beside a lake or stream unconscious from over drinking.
Pandas are very slow animals. They walk pigeon-toed with their front paws turned inward. When they walk, they keep their head low, and their body sways from side to side. Their back legs are even weaker than their front legs. They don’t like to move a lot. They tire very easily, especially when they are forced to trot. A panda can stand on its hind legs to reach into a tree, but they can't walk like us humans. Did you know that pandas could climb trees? They climb trees to feel safe from their enemies, leopards. Unlike other animals, pandas don't travel in groups. They have to look out for themselves.
There are only one thousand pandas alive in the world. A lot of the pandas habitat has been destroyed for wood and farmland. Don't worry. China's government has thirteen reserves of bamboo-rich public land for them. It is not just the fault of the people, it is also Mother Nature's fault, because bamboo can take fifteen to one hundred-twenty years to seed. It takes several years for the seed to grow into a plant that can provide food for pandas.
Did you know that pandas have a tough lining in their throats? The tough lining is to help the panda swallow the sharp bamboo stalks. The stomach has thick walls and strong muscles for added protection against splinters from the bamboo. The panda has very short intestines for its diet. Most herbivores, or animals that only eat plants, usually have long intestines that would wrap around their bodies ten times. The panda's intestines are only half that long. As a result, the bamboo passes through the panda's body before being fully digested.
Did you know that a panda has really poor eye sight? A panda could walk right past food and not see it. As soon as the panda catches the scent of the food, it will return and begin feeding. Its eyes are black and almond shaped. In bright light, the pupils narrow down to slits. Even at night the pandas vision is not good. Pandas rely on their keen senses of smell and hearing to make up for its poor eye sight. People that study the panda's behavior have a hard time because as soon as the panda picks up the scent of the human, it will disappear. Did you know that they also mark their territory with their scent? They have a musk gland near their tail, and that is what they use to mark their territory. Humans don't notice the musky odor, but other pandas do. Both males and females mark rocks and trees.
The panda has a few natural enemies such as the snow leopard and Asiatic wild dog. They can either climb trees or go for a swim to get a way from them. Their real enemies are poachers and farmers. The poachers are trying to catch musk deer when pandas get caught in their snares. Farmers are a the biggest enemy of all because they keep clearing the land the the pandas live on. Brown bears are also an enemy of the panda.
Did you know that pandas can camouflage themselves with the black and white colors of their fur? The black parts of their fur blend in with the dark trunks of trees and branches. The white fur becomes almost invisible against the bright sky.
Suggested
Reading
1987.
Jin, Xuqi. The Giant Panda. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1986.
Snyder Gregory K. "Panda." World Book Encyclopedia. 1994.
Links
MMS
Kids / Musselman
Middle School
Mrs.
Shermans Classroom
Alex's
Web Page
