Giant Pandas of China
You probably know that one of the national treasures of China are the endangered Panda Bears. These beautiful animals can be seen at the zoos in cities like Shanghai, Beijing, at the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base in Chengdu, or at the Wolong Nature Reserve in the Sichuan Province. There are also pandas at some of the better zoos in the United States. You can often see them eating, sleeping and playing to the enjoyment of visitors.
Giant Pandas are big like you would expect a bear to be, but have thick black and white fur with short little tail. The area around a panda bears eyes, ears, legs and shoulders and are typically black, and the rest of their fur white.
Pandas are known to have very good eyesight. They also have extremely strong jaws and teeth, made especially for chewing tough foods like bamboo. They have special bones on their hands that act like opposable thumbs to help them holding their food.
Giant Pandas are indigenous to only about six small areas in China. They are native in the high mountainous regions around the center and southwest of China, among cool forests full of bamboo. The famous Chengdu Breeding Giant Panda Research is found on the mountain of Fu Tou. The weather is mostly cloudy, rainy and misty throughout the year.
Panda bears are considered carnivores, but nearly all of their diet in the wild consists of bamboo. It seems to be their favorite meal, but it is low in nutrition. Therefore, a Giant Panda needs to eat for more 10 to 14 hours a day to stay healthy.
The bears tend to be shy and like to live alone. The males and females only meet in late spring or early summer seasons to breed. Three to five months later the females usually only give birth to one or two cubs in a den she has dug in the ground. Often, only one of the babies will live to become fully grown. When giant panda cubs are born they are tiny and helpless. They cannot see at birth, and are pink, having very little fur. The cubs nurse their mother's milk for about six months. After approximately a year, the cubs should be able to live on their own. Giant Pandas generally live between 17 and 20 years in the wild.
Only a hundred years ago there was a large population giant pandas in China, but their numbers have dwindles and today they are considered an endangered species and are protected by law. Pandas can live safely in places like the Wolong Reserve where they cannot be hunted. The primary reason giant pandas are endangered is because of the destruction of their native habitat. Forests being destroyed to build new homes and businesses.