Giant Panda
By: Donovan Pastory
Baby Photos
Adult Photos
What type if consumer is a panda bear
A herbivore
Lifespan
20 years in wild
Habitat
Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.
Size
Adults measure around 4 to 6 ft long, including a tail of about 5.1 in, and 2.0 to 3.0 ft tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 350 lb. Females can weigh as little as 165 lb, but can also weigh up to 276 lb. Average adult weight is 220 to 254 lb.
Diet
Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivore, the giant panda's diet is primarily herbivorous consisting almost exclusively of bamboo. However, the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes, and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. Its ability to digest celluloss is ascribed to the microbes in its gut.
Newborn
A giant panda cub. At birth, the giant panda typically weighs 100 to 200 grams (3 1⁄2 to 7 oz) and measures 15 to 17 centimeters (6 to 7 in) long.
Young Timeline
When the cub is first born, it is pink, blind, and toothless, weighing only 3.2 to 4.6 ounces. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns gray where its hair will eventually become black. A slight pink color may appear on cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. A month after birth, the color pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 100 pounds at one year, and live with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old. The interval between births in the wild is generally two years.
Population
Today, an estimated 2,000 pandas are found in the wild. By the end of 2006, there were a reported 180 pandas in captivity on mainland China and about 20 in other countries.
Reproduction
Mating Season: March-May.
Gestation: 3-5 months.
Litter size: 1-2 cubs.
Gestation: 3-5 months.
Litter size: 1-2 cubs.