About

The Giant Panda

The Giant Panda, a member of the bear family, is a large, slow moving mammal who eats mostly the leaves and shoots of bamboo. Males can weigh up to 253 pound and females can weigh up to 220 pounds, though this can vary. The black and white markings of the panda are very distinctive. Black eye patches are surrounded by a white neck and head, followed by black shoulders. The majority of the body is white, and the hind legs are black. It is thought that this color scheme developed as a response to predation, and the color breakup made it harder for predators to see the panda. Now however, with no natural predators, the coloring of the panda is simply a curiosity.

The Panda's Diet

The panda is related to the bear family, which is partly carnivorous, and the Giant Panda's system was not built to process only vegetable matter. Still, the panda has adapted to his environment, and trades off the low nutritional value of bamboo for a plentiful source of food. In order to extract enough nutrients to survive the panda much eat 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo each day, which takes up most of his waking hours. The stomach muscles are very strong, in order to process the cellulose, and the walls of the stomach have a mucus coating. In order to better manipulate the bamboo shoots the Giant Panda has developed a rigid bone that serves as a thumb, helping the panda hold the bamboo shoots as he eats them. As the panda goes, so goes the bamboo, which relies on the panda to spread its seeds far and wide. The health of one benefits the other.

Reproduction

Reproductively speaking the Giant Panda is not a fecund species. Only a few pandas have been born in captivity, and fewer still have survived. The cause may be related to problems with scent marking in confined spaces, but scientists are still uncertain as to why Giant Pandas are reluctant to breed in captivity. Once the pandas have succesfully mated the female gestates the young for only about one and a half months. The cub is born small, blind, and completely helpless. He won't even open his eyes for three weeks and he has to feed 14 times a day for up to a half and hour each time. Finally at around three to four months the panda cub will begin to move on his own. Still the formative process of the Giant Panda cub is very delicate and the cub is very vulnerable for an extended amount of time.

Wild pandas live roughly 26 years, but that has been increased in captivity to about 30 years.

Reason they are engangered

Slow and infrequent breeding

There are several factors contributing to the endangerment of the Giant Panda. The first is that the panda is a notoriously slow and infrequent breeder; they simply cannot sustain many losses if their numbers are to remain healthy.

Hunting & Poaching

For many years the pelt of the panda was also seen as a prized possession, though recent strict measures by the Chinese government have made poaching very dangerous. In fact, the government has even order executions in cases of Giant Panda poaching.

Human encroachment, habitat destruction

In addition, human encroachment on the bamboo forests has reduced the living area for the species. Recent studies number wild pandas at about 1,000 members, though some believe the population to be closer to 3,000 members.

How you can help

Save the Giant Panda

The Chinese government has done much to save the Giant Panda. Since the mid-80's government programs have been teaching almost 5,000 villages about conservation and the wild Giant Panda, and efforts to halt commercial logging have been put into place. Studies claim that the population of the Giant Pandas has been stable for the last twenty years or so, which is definitely an improvement over previous declines. Whether this will be enough to save the Giant Panda in a world with ever more human beings remains to be seen.

One of the leading Giant Panda conservation efforts is lead by the World Wildlife Fund "WWF". Refer to the links below.

References

• University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web- Giant Panda: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ailuropoda_melanoleuca.html
• "WWF" Panda Central: http://www.wwfchina.org/english/pandacentral/htm/wwf_at_work/panda_survey/q&a.htm