Written by Hi everyone, today I will give 10 facts about my favorite animal, the panda.
Pandas have excellent camouflage for their habitat
The giant panda’s distinct black-and-white markings have two functions: camouflage and communication.
Most of the panda – its face, neck, belly, rump – is white to help it hide in snowy habitats. The arms and legs are black, helping it to hide in the shade.
Their eyes are different from normal bears.
Like domestic cats, giant panda bears have vertical slits for pupils.
Cubs are well protected in their first month.
Mother pandas keep contact with their cub nearly 100% of the time during their first month – with the cub resting on her front and remaining covered by her paw, arm, or head.
Pandas can swim and even climb trees.
Giant pandas are good swimmers and excellent tree climbers. At five months old, giant panda cubs learn to climb – sometimes practicing by climbing on their mum.
They have a helping hand.
Pandas have an extended wrist bone that they use like a thumb to help them grip food.
They spend a lot of their day eating.
Giant pandas feed 10-16 hours daily, mainly on bamboo.
Bamboo is critical to their diet.
Pandas need two different bamboo species in their range to avoid starvation.
But they do occasionally eat something other than bamboo
A panda’s diet is 99% vegetarian, mostly including bamboo roots, stems, shoots, and leaves. However, their digestive system is typical of a carnivore, so the remaining 1% of their diet can include eggs, small animals, and carrion.
Pandas are also known to forage in farmland for pumpkin, kidney beans, wheat, and domestic pig food.
Pandas don’t hibernate.
Unlike most bears, pandas don’t hibernate. When winter approaches, they head lower down the mountain homes to warmer temperatures, where they continue to chomp away on bamboo!
Panda numbers are increasing.
Excitingly, conversation efforts mean panda bear numbers are increasing in the wild. Though there’s still lots of work to be done, the species is no longer endangered.
I hope you enjoyed the 10 facts about my favorite animal, the panda.
