Giant Panda Facts for 4th Graders

The giant panda eats mainly bamboo.

There are two species of panda: the giant panda and the much smaller red panda. The giant panda is an endangered species, due to habitat loss and people hunting for Chinese medicines. The World Wildlife Fund has used the giant panda as its emblem for many years.

Description

Scientists dont know why pandas are black and white.

The giant panda has patches of black around its eyes, and on its ears, legs, and shoulders. The rest of its fur is white. The pandas are between 4 feet to 6 feet long, and can weigh up to 250 pounds. The male is generally bigger than the female. They have thick curly fur that keeps them warm in their habitat.

Habitat

Pandas live in broad leaf coniferous forests between 5,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level. They are only found in the Sichaun, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in central China. They used to live in more lowland areas, but because of population growth and farming they have been pushed up into the mountains.

Diet

Pandas are very fussy eaters and eat mostly the bamboo that makes up 99 percent of their diet. They eat between 20 pounds to 40 pounds of bamboo each day. The rest of their diet is made up of certain grasses, musk deer fawns, small rodents and small birds. Pandas' digestive systems are not designed to just eat plants.

Lifestyle

A number of giant pandas will share a large home range and occasionally will meet, but they spend much of their time alone. The majority of a panda's day is spent eating and foraging for food. They devote between 10 to 16 hours every day to foraging and eating, spending the rest of the time asleep or resting. Gene testing shows that giant pandas are a species of bear. Unlike other bear species, however the giant panda does not need to hibernate.

Development

Pandas are born without any hair and weigh about 3 ounces to 5 ounces. They don't open their eyes until they are about 6 to 8 weeks old and can't move around on their own until they are about 3 months old. The cub will spend between one and a half to three years with its mother before it leaves to fend for itself.

References

• Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Giant Panda Facts
• San Diego Zoo: Giant Panda