Giant panda (Schleich)

 

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), sometimes called a panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. Perhaps one of the world's most iconic animals, the giant panda is a member of the bear family identified by its black and white coloration. Males can weigh up to 160kg (350lbs), with females being smaller. Although it is a member of the order Carnivora, the giant panda has adapted to eat plants. Although a wild panda may eat grass, tubers or meat, 99% of its diet consists of bamboo leaves and stalks. It can eat up to 14kg (30lbs) of bamboo a day, holding it in its paws using a modified wrist-bone like a thumb and crunching through the thick stalks with its powerful jaws. However, the Giant Panda cannot get much nutrition from bamboo, so it must spend most of its day eating or resting.

The giant panda is native to the mountainous bamboo forests of China, with the greatest numbers found in Sichuan. Although primarily terrestrial, they are good climbers. Adults are typically solitary and come together only to mate. Females will usually give birth to twins, although she will typically only raise one and abandon the other. Habitat loss, combined with a low birth-rate, are the main threats to wild giant pandas and at one point it was estimated there were only 1000 adults left in the wild. Captive breeding and conservation awareness have since resulted in numbers increasing, although the species is still considered "conservation-reliant".

• They're the world's most recognized endangered species. Hundreds of years ago, giant pandas likely lived throughout central China. But the growing number of people in that region and their dependence on the forest left very little land for giant pandas. In 1998, China banned logging in the panda's range.
• Most female pandas are able to reproduce at age five or six. But breeding isn't easy since they are only fertile for two days out of an entire year.
• Dense forests make wild pandas difficult to count. According to a 2004 estimate, there could be nearly 1600 pandas in the wild. However, until researchers develop better survey methods, an exact number will remain elusive.
• Bold black-and-white markings act as camouflage. Like zebra stripes, giant panda markings break up its outline. Scientists think this may make the animal more difficult to spot among the trees, rocks and shadows of the forest where they live.