

It is really an extra-long wrist bone that works like a thumb. This "thumb" is not really a finger (like our thumb is).
#Panda eyes plus
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). Bamboo species go through periodic die-offs after they flower.This limits the range of pandas tremendously. These bamboo plants only grow in a few places.Its throat and stomach have extra-tough linings to protect them from the tough food. It has to eat for up to 12 hours every day in order to get enough nourishment. Even though the panda eats this plant, it cannot digest it very well and most of the bamboo passes undigested through the digestive tract. Pandas eat about 40 pounds (18 kg) of food each day. Their diet is almost exclusively two species of bamboo (arrow and umbrella bamboo). Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears. The panda's tail is about 6 inches (16 cm) long. The average adult female panda grows to be about 2.5 feet (80 cm) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 180 pounds (80 kg). The average adult male panda grows to be about 3 feet (1 m) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 220 pounds (100 kg). They are about 5.25 to 6 feet (1.6 to 1.8 m) long. The largest pandas grow to be about 250 pounds (115 kg), about the weight of a large adult human. This black-and-white coloring may camouflage (hide) the panda in the snowy, rocky environment. Giant pandas are white with black patches around the eyes, ears, shoulders, chest, legs, and feet. These unusual eyes inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "giant cat bear."


The exception is the giant panda, whose pupils are vertical slits, like cats' eyes. It has unusual cat-like eyes, and its front paws have an opposable "thumb."įemale pandas are called sows, males are called boars, and the young are called cubs. This bear is quite different from other bears. The Chinese people call the panda "Da xiong mao," which means "giant bear cat" in Chinese. These large, cuddly-looking mammals have a big head, a heavy body, rounded ears, and a short tail. Giant pandas are black-and-white Chinese bears that are on the verge of extinction. Our subscribers' grade-level estimate for this page: Today's featured page: Sun, Earth, and Moon Model Panda: Perimeter Poem - Printable Worksheet. is a user-supported site.Īs a bonus, site members have access to a banner-ad-free version of the site, with print-friendly pages.įind It! Grade 2-3 Research Activity - Īdjectives Describing a Panda - Printable Worksheet.
