Giant Panda

Munch, Munch, Munch… Munch, Munch, Munch…

Giant pandas are also known as ‘pandas’, or ‘panda bears’ and their scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning ‘black and white cat-foot’.
Giant pandas are native to China, northern Vietnam and Myanmar (also known as Burma), however they are now only found in a small area in central China.
Giant pandas are an endangered species, however there are many reports of growth in the panda’s numbers in the wild, partly due to the conservation and expansion of their forest habitat.
The giant panda’s diet consists mainly of bamboo, which makes up 99% of its diet, but sometimes they eat meat and grass.
Adult giant pandas grow from 1.2 to 1.8 metres (4 to 6 feet) in length, and generally weigh between 100 and 115 kg (220 to 250 lb), while females are normally 10% to 20% smaller than the males.

Giant pandas have one thumb and five fingers, on their front paws, and they have a tail that is 10 – 15 cm (4 – 6 in) long.
In their natural habitat, giant pandas live up to 20 years, although in captivity, they can live for another ten years, with the oldest panda in captivity reaching 34 years in age.
Giant pandas live by themselves most of the time, and they don’t hibernate like other bears that live in similar climate zones.
Giant pandas eat 9 to 18 kg (20 to 40 lbs) of bamboo every day, as their carnivorous style of digestive system does not convert the bamboo into significant amounts of usable energy and protein.
There are currently only two giant pandas that live in the Southern Hemisphere, both found at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, and both of them came from the 2008 earthquake devastated Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in China which housed 280 giant pandas.