For years, scientists have been wondering whether the giant panda is a bear, a raccoon or one of their own. But according to the San Diego Zoo, a lot of genetic research shows that the giant panda is a bear.
Giant pandas are also called giant pandas, variegated bears, bamboo bears and white bears, which are different from other giant pandas because of their large size and black and white. Their bold colors provide camouflage-according to the Smithsonian National Zoo, giant pandas can hardly be seen in dense bamboo forests.
Giant pandas are 27 to 32 inches (70 to 80 centimeters) in shoulder height, 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in length and can weigh up to 275 pounds (125 kilograms). According to the San Diego Zoo, they are about the same size as American black bears. In contrast, the panda's distant relative, the giant panda, is only 20 to 26 inches (50 to 65 centimeters) tall and weighs 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9 kilograms). According to the National Zoo, among wild animals, "KDSP" and "KDSP" only appear in the remote mountainous areas of central China, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. At an altitude of 5000 to 10000 feet (1524-3048 meters), it is a cool and humid bamboo forest that giant pandas call home. The giant panda's nest is made of logs or pine and cypress stumps hollowed out in the forest.
Panda's appetite for bamboo is insatiable. According to National Geographic, they eat 12 hours of bamboo every day, which means they eat 28 pounds (12.5 kilograms) of bamboo every day. According to the introduction of San Diego Zoo, the giant panda has a special kind of bone, which extends from the wrist and is called "false thumb". They hold and manipulate bamboo with their fake thumbs.
Bamboo is low in nutrients, which is why pandas must eat so much bamboo. In order to obtain various nutrients, giant pandas eat different parts of bamboo at different times of the year, looking for new buds and leaves (new buds and leaves contain more nutrients, including calcium, nitrogen and phosphorus). According to National Geographic, in summer, giant pandas will climb a mountain13,000 feet (3,962 meters) high to feed.
Sometimes there is not enough bamboo around to feed giant pandas, so giant pandas occasionally supplement their bamboo food with rodents and fish, insects or birds.
(dominiqueb/Flickr) Panda Life Giant pandas are mostly lonely. According to National Geographic, they don't like being with other giant pandas so much that they have a strong sense of smell, which can let them know that there is another giant panda nearby and avoid them. If they really touch each other, they will roar, slap and bite each other until they give up and leave.
On average, the giant panda's territory is about 1.9 square miles (5 square kilometers). In order to mark their territory, giant pandas secrete a waxy scent mark from the scent glands under their tails. According to the San Diego Zoo, other giant pandas may identify their sex, age, reproductive status and social status by smelling this powerful marker. The only time pandas can find each other is in the spring mating season. When ready to mate, males will use their sensitive sense of smell to sniff out females. Female giant pandas mate every two to three years.
Like many other mammals (but not humans), the male giant panda has a rod-shaped body with a bone stick in the soft tissue of * * *. For most bears, it is straight ahead. But in the giant P, according to the animal diversity network, it is S-shaped and backward.
The average pregnancy time is 135 days, but the range is from 100 to 180 days. According to the San Diego Zoo, females will give birth to one or two cubs weighing only 3 to 5 ounces (85 to 142 grams) (although the second cub usually does not survive), which is about the size of a piece of butter. The young are completely blind in about 50 to 60 days, and begin to crawl in about 10 weeks. [Gallery: Baby Panda Pictures]
The young began to eat bamboo from 7 to 9 months, continued to breastfeed until 18 months, and were weaned and sent to live independently. Female pandas reach maturity at the age of 4 to 5, while male pandas reach maturity at the age of 6 to 7.
According to the San Diego Zoo, the giant panda is the loudest of all bears. The cry, similar to the cry of a lamb or goat, is one of the most unique cries of pandas and is usually used as a greeting. Other calls include horns, roars, barks and growls, while cubs often giggle and scream.
Giant pandas are famous for their curiosity and playfulness. According to the introduction of San Diego Zoo, in captivity, they often play with toys, puzzles and other rich items, and even tumble.
Giant pandas can eat bamboo because, like sloths with three toes, their metabolism is very low. (Wei) The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists giant pandas as vulnerable animals. Compared with the pandas listed as rare animals by the World Conservation Union in 1980s, this is an improvement. 20 14 at the time of the latest assessment, the number of giant pandas seemed to be increasing. There are 67 giant panda reserves in China, which protect about two-thirds of the wild giant pandas and more than 50% of their habitats. According to the World Wildlife Fund,
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Read more information about giant pandas and China Giant Panda Reserve from Panda International website. Want to save the panda? You can volunteer at the China Giant Panda Center. Learn more about the value of panda protection. "This article was updated by Rachel Ross, a writer of Life Science, on March 20th, 1965. "