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| Giant Panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca |
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| The Chinese
name for the Giant Panda is Xiongmao which means giant cat bear.
The panda has a massive head, rounded ears, and its fur is black and
white. They are excellent climbers and have short claws. The extremely
solitary giant panda is slow moving and only speeds up the pace if he or
she is in danger. Their jaws, throat, and stomach have been adapted for
eating bamboo. This bear weighs 176 to 27b lb, and can grow to be 5.25 to
6 feet tall.
Females mature at around 5-7 years. Unlike most bears, males often roar to announce their presence. Copulation (mating) is similar to that of canines. The female is in estrous (ready to mate) for about three weeks and in that period of time she will mate with one or more males. They breed every other year. The cubs are 90-130g and the size of a chipmunk at birth. They are born with white fur and later they will develop the black patches characteristic to an adult giant panda. They stay with their mother for about a year and a half when the mother is ready to mate again. The giant panda is found in the cold, damp coniferous forest at elevations from 4,000 to 11,000 feet in China. They have a quite small territory of only 1.5 - 2.5 square miles. Giant pandas do not hibernate because they have a year long supply of food and the bamboo they consume is not high enough is fat and calories to support them through an entire winter. The giant panda relies almost completely on bamboo. The giant panda is a symbol for all the endangered species activists. They are slow breeding, rely on one food source, and have been shot through their previous range. The giant panda is isolated in small areas of land. In that area of land the bamboo periodically dies off as a natural cycle of life. At that time the giant panda would migrate to a different area of land with more bamboo. Unfortunately there is no place for the panda to go. When they begin to migrate they are more easily killed by farmers. A panda is worth thousands on the black market, so poaching is prevalent. The penalty for such an offense may be death, though. |
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