See link here: http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/exhibits/panda/panda.htm




More About Pandas


Pandas are first mentioned in Chinese books written 2,500 years ago, but they weren't seen by a European until 1869. In 1936, Su-Lin at the Chicago Zoo was the first living panda to be brought out of China.

The panda's full name is Giant Panda. Their scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca.

Pandas are related to bears, but they are classified in their own group.

There used to be some confusion about how to classify pandas because they have some features in common with a completely different animal called a Red Panda (also called a Lesser Panda) which is related to the raccoons. Red pandas were discovered by Europeans 48 years before the Giant panda. The word "panda" comes from the Nepalese name for the red panda, nigalya ponya, which means "bamboo eater."

Pandas have the digestive system of a carnivore (meat eater), but they eat a mostly vegetarian diet.

Pandas' primary food is bamboo, but since their digestive systems can absorb only a little of the nutrition, they have to eat over 30 pounds a day.

Pandas like the taste of young bamboo sprouts which have even less nutrition. If they eat only these, they must eat over 80 pounds a day.

Pandas spend 16-24 hours a day eating and the remainder resting.

Pandas eat sitting up and have a sixth finger on their front paws that they use as a thumb for holding food.

Pandas make a sound like a sheep bleating, but they can make 11 different sounds for different situations.

The purpose of the pandas' black eye patches may be to make their eyes look bigger and scarier to other animals.

Pandas' fur is slightly oily to make it waterproof.

Each panda lives alone. Male and female pandas get together only for mating and then separate after a day or two.

Pandas keep track of other pandas by scent marking trees.

If a female panda gives birth to two babies, she is able to take care of only one of them.

Adult pandas are 5-6 feet long and weigh 165-242 pounds.

Pandas live for about thirty years in captivity. Their only natural enemies are humans.

Pandas are very endangered because of the destruction of their environment and hunting by poachers for their fur.

For a long time, it was believed that there were fewer than 1000 pandas in the world, but a new survey in 2004 indicated that there may be as many as 1600. Only about 16 of these are outside China.

Pandas are used as the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund.