Interesting Facts about Pandas

Facts & Info About Pandas


Increase your knowledge of Facts about the Panda with some brief, but essential information & fast facts about this popular animal. Important facts, data and info containing details of the description, name origins and habitat of Pandas. Details of the size, height and weight. Where they live and what they eat! Discover what their lives are like! A mixture of Factual information together with cool, fun, strange, amazing, weird and even funny facts about Pandas. A detailed Fact Sheet covering a whole host of topics and Panda facts! Have Fun!


Facts about Pandas !

Description of Pandas

The Giant Pandas, or Panda Bear is described as a rare mammal (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with distinctive white and black marking.



The Red Pandas, or Lesser Panda is described as a small mammal (Ailurus fulgens), similar to a racoon, with red fur, a long ringed tail and white face marking

The scientists who study animals (zoology ) are called zoologists. Each animal that is studied is classified, that is, split into descriptive groups starting with main groups ( vertebrates and invertebrates ) the Families of animals are also included such as Ursidae ( the family of bears) and the families are then split into species such as Ursus americanus (American Black Bear)

Species of Pandas

There are two different species of Pandas:
Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Giant Panda Bear)
Ailurus fulgens (Red Panda, or Lesser Panda)


Facts about where Pandas live and what they eat!

Giant Pandas are native to China and Tibet
The common habitat is a damp coniferous forest
The diet of Pandas consist of bamboo stems, bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots ( about 80 pounds of bamboo every day )
The Red Panda Bear , or Lesser Panda Bear are native to Northeast Asia - Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal
The common habitat is a damp coniferous forest - they frequents steeper slopes than the Giant species
The diet of Pandas consist of bamboo leaves and shoots


Basic Facts about Pandas

The name of a male is referred to as a boar or he-bear
The name of a female is referred to as a sow or she-bear
The name or offspring, or a baby Panda, is a cub
The average size of a litter is one cub ( 1 - 5 in Red Pandas )
The collective name for a group is a sleuth or sloth
The sounds made by the Panda is referred to as bleats, honks and growls

Facts about the Size of Giant Pandas

Fully grown they reach the height of 5-6 feet
An adult weighs about 276 pounds



Facts about the Size of Red Pandas

Fully grown they reach the height of 20 - 25 inches
An adult weighs between 7 - 13 lb - much smaller than Giant Pandas


Facts about the life, behavior and personality of Pandas

Good tree climbers
Most active during the day
Pandas are solitary animals
The Giant Panda is significantly larger than the Red Panda
The Red Panda differs from the Giant Panda in that it adds fruits to its diet
The Red Panda feeds more frequently on bamboo leaves as opposed to the stems and shoots eaten by the Giant Panda

Cool and Fun Facts about Pandas
Some fascinating information & facts about the Panda:

The Chinese revere the panda which they call "large bear-cat."

There are less than 1,000 pandas in the wild and just over 100 in captivity

Pandas spend up to 16 hours eating


Endangered Species Facts

Wild life experts consider that Pandas are an endangered species
An endangered species is one that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The Causes of a species of animal becoming endangered are due to Habitat Destruction such as the rainforest, introduction of exotic species, disease, water pollution, global warming and over exploitation of natural resources. As people are made aware of the facts about endangered species, initiatives such as Recycling are increasing in popularity. Endangered Species Organizations are dedicated to saving and preserving the world's most endangered wildlife. Interesting facts about Endangered Species..


Roaming in a few isolated Sichuan basin mountain ranges in southwest China including the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces along the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the Ailuropoda melanoleuca (literal translation: "black and white cat-footed") or giant panda is also referred to in Chinese as da xiongmao or "large bear-cat".



These strikingly handsome creatures have been around for 600,000 years, dating as far back as the Pleistocene Era and according to fossil evidence, they used to cover territory as far south as Vietnam and Myanmar. Today, there are just 290 pandas living in captivity and an estimated 1,600 TOTAL living in China's mountains.



Although they DO sleep between 8 and 12 hours daily, pandas do not hibernate - they don't have enough body fat to do so. Instead, they take to lower altitudes when temperatures drop and conversely climb back up to higher altitudes when the mercury rises.



The giant panda - China's symbol of peace -- has been the poster child for endangered species everywhere...in fact it was officially added to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Act in 1984. The London Zoo's sole panda resident Chi Chi was the inspiration the World Wildlife Fund's perennial logo, officially launched back in 1961.



Newborns begin life completely blind and covered with fine white fur, weighing in at just 3.7 ounces. Their distinctive markings emerge around their 10th day of life, their eyes open at between 1 ½ to 2 months and by 25 days, a panda's coat takes on its fully recognizable appearance. Once they reach four months of age, they are able to walk and they ultimately spend the next 2+ years with their mother.



The World Wildlife Fund says that perpetually low birth rates and high infant death rates have made panda reproduction efforts (while in captivity) very challenging and not yet sustainable. Between the ages of 4 - 10 years, they are finally able to procreate and yet females are only fertile once each year in the springtime. With a gestation period of between 97 and 163 days, pregnant bears give birth an average of every 2 - 3 years to a maximum of two cubs, one of which generally survives.



Completely mature pandas average 225 pounds in weight -- a full 10 - 20% heavier than their female counterparts at 193 pounds - and measure from 4 - 6 feet long. While certain pandas held in captivity have been known to reach the ripe old age of 35, their average lifespan in zoos and refuges is 30, while in the wild, they generally reach approximately 20 years of age. The oldest known panda was Wuhan Zoo's 37 year old female resident, named Dudu, who suffered from epilepsy in 1999.



Subsisting on a largely herbivore diet of bamboo stems, leaves and shoots, their bodies aren't naturally designed to process fibrous cellulosic plant material -- in fact, they actually possess carnivore-friendly digestive systems (which apparently accommodate the occasional rodent that they are known to eat). For this very reason, they tend to consume an average of 28 pounds of bamboo each day, which amounts to 10,000+ pounds annually. They also augment their diets (when necessary) with other plants such as crocuses, irises and gentians.



The panda's number one predator continues to be man rather than snow leopards (which tend to prey on panda cubs) or bamboo rats (which destroy their main food source by consuming the root structure, ultimately felling trees). Human beings have long been responsible for overdeveloping the bears' conventional habitat in favor of creating agricultural regions and cities, depleting their natural stomping grounds of its natural resources and taking out dense coniferous and broadleaf forests which offer them 99% of their main food source (in the form of bamboo).



In the past, even though poachers found guilty of killing giant pandas could receive the death penalty, many acknowledge still being willing to taking their chances since the financial reward for a pelt was more than their potential lifetime earnings. The Criminal Law of China was finally revised in 1997, dictating that the maximum penalty for panda poaching be no more than 10 years.

Pandas are amazing ..x

Loved the sneezing one..and the babies on the slide....I did watch another video..linked with the sneezing one....a baby elephant sneezing...now that was sooo sweeeeeet...!

See Nellie's are sweet - you wrote it Sheila !

You planted that video...brainwashing...

i love the first vid ov baby panda sneezing that made me giggle.....baby frightened the life out mam!! lol

Nellie wrote:

See Nellie's are sweet - you wrote it Sheila !

You are getting to know me better than I know myself!