~Giant Panda~
~Ruhma Afzal~
Anatomy/Appearance
The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of its coat is white. They can weigh from around 70kg to around 125kg. Adult pandas measure around 1.2 to 1.9 m long.
Diet and Habitat
Giant pandas eat bamboo. They live in the mountainous regions of central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces where there wet bamboo forests so that the pandas can eat. They eat bamboo up to 12 hours a day, but also eat rodents, fish, insects and birds. Eating both vegetation and meat makes these pandas omnivores.
Life Cycle and Behavior
Each giant panda has a defined territory, and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but do not establish permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate, which is similar to other subtropical mammals. They'll move to elevations with warmer temperatures instead. Giant pandas live from 20 to 30 years in captivity. The oldest panda in captivity was 34 years old.