4/2/2023 0 Comments Panda bearsGiant pandas are mostly shy, solitary animals. This species is extremely vulnerable to extinction because of humans. There are about 120 living in zoos and breeding centers around the world. There are roughly 1,000-1,500 pandas living in the wild (in China). ![]() Giant pandas are an endangered species and their numbers are dwindling very quickly as their habitat is destroyed. Pandas used to also live at lower altitudes, but farming and land development have pushed the pandas high into the mountains. Giant pandas are found in mixed deciduous/evergreen temperate forests, between 3,000 and 10,500 feet (900-3,200 m) in altitude (below the timberline). The natural habitat of the giant panda is cool, wet, cloudy mountain forest land where bamboo grows. This has created six isolated populations that do not interbreed. In the wild, giant pandas only live in a few mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.īecause of habitat destruction, the pandas now live in a series of broken ranges. Their fur is made of two types of hairs there are long, thick, coarse hairs and a shorter, fine, dense underfur. Pandas have very thick, oily, woolly fur that keeps them warm in their cold, wet mountain habitat. They also have strong jaw muscles which they use for chewing tough bamboo. They also have a few sharp teeth which they use to bite tough bamboo stalks. Giant pandas have large molars (flat teeth used for crushing food). Since pandas spend most of their time eating tough, nutrition-poor bamboo, strong teeth and jaws are very important to a panda's survival. The panda uses these dextrous paws to grasp its food (bamboo shoots and leaves). It is really an extra-long wrist bone that works like a thumb. This "thumb" is not really a finger (like our thumb is). These paws have five clawed fingers plus an extra bone that works like an opposable thumb. Sitting this way, they can use their front paws to hold their food. ![]() Pandas usually eat while sitting in an upright position. In captivity (zoos and breeding centers), pandas eat bamboo, rice cereal, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes. This leads to periodic starvations among giant panda populations. With the greatly reduced bamboo forests of today, this option is not always available. When this happened in the past, pandas would migrate to another area where the bamboo was still flourishing. Most plants in an area die-off at the same time (after flowering).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |