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Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class:
Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus:
Ailuropoda Species: melanoleuca
The genus and species mean: "panda footed black and white animal."
Giant Panda, Great Panda, Parti-colored Bear, Party colored Bear, Panda Bear, White Bear, Bamboo Bear.
The name seems to be in dispute. Several names exist could describe the panda such as: maoxiong a catlike bear, huaxiong a banded bear, xiongmao bearlike cat, and daxiongmao great bear-cat.
The Giant Panda has unique coloration that is easily recognizable.
They have white fur except for black ovals around their eyes and
ears. The black is on the forelegs and extends across the shoulder.
The hind legs also are black.
Their fur is dense, wooly and slightly oily. The dense fur insulates
them during cold temperatures and the slightly oily fur prevents water
from penetrating the skin.
The ears are 9-10 cm in length. Body
length: 1.2-1.5m. Shoulder height: 2.5 ft. Tail Length: 12.7cm
Weight:75-160kg or about 165-360 lbs.
They are plantigrade. Their toes are turned in when walking. The
normal motion of the panda is a fast diagonal walk that most mammals
implement. The walk is bear-like but less graceful. The panda carries
its head below the shoulders with the tail pressed against the body.
There is a lot of lateral motion in the shoulder and hip region to
produce a waddling characteristic in their motion. When moving faster
than a walk, the panda breaks into a clumsy trot. The panda has
short legs. The forelegs are more muscular than the hind legs. Giving
their walk a clumsy appearance.
They can climb trees to escape from predators, to snooze or to look
over the area.
The panda lives in mixed coniferous-deciduous forests. They inhabit
eight small isolated reserves in the Shannxi and Sichuan providences
of northern China. The upper limit in the range is limited by the
altitude at which bamboo can grow. The lower altitude of their range
is defined by human settlements and activities. The climate is
temperate.
The numbers of giant pandas in the wild are between 700-1000 animals.
There are about 100 animals in captivity, most of them are found in
zoos around the world.
Pandas are mostly solitary animals except during mating season. The home
range of a panda is 3.9km2 to 6.4km2. The males
home range is larger than the females. The ranges overlap with one
another; the panda mainly stays in the core of its range where there
is no overlap with another panda territory. They do not hibernate but
move to lower altitudes during the winter
months.
Pandas spend about 50% of their day sleeping, 10% resting, 25% eating, 13% walking, and 2% interacting with other pandas.
Diet:The panda has adapted from a
carnivorous diet to an almost exclusively herbivorous diet. 99% of the
giant pandas diet is bamboo. The two most accessible types of bamboo
to the giant panda are Sinarundininaria fangiana and
Fargesia spathacea. The species that is preferred varies
depending on the season. They will on occasion eat small rodents or
wild flowers.
The panda spends about 14 hours a day active; 12 hours of that is
spent gathering, manipulating, and digesting bamboo. The remaining 2
hours are spent on other activities such as traveling, scent marking,
and reproduction. The remaining 10 hours the giant panda is spent
resting, in periods of about two hours.
The giant panda always eats either sitting or laying an its back.
These positions free its forepaws. The bamboo stalks are held and
manipulated with their extra"thumb" and forefingers. The tough outer
layer of the bamboo stalk is quickly stripped and eaten.
Since bamboo has low nutritional value and the pandas
intestine/stomach is not adapted
to an herbivorous diet; the panda must eat a large amount to meet
their basic metabolic needs. Giant pandas digest only about 12-13% of
the bamboo that it ingests. Approximately 12.5 kg (20 to 40 lbs) of bamboo stems and
leaves are ingested daily to obtain the necessary amount of
nutrients for the panda to survive.
The panda courtship and mating period is seasonal. During
courtship pandas become more vocal, become restless, and scent mark
more frequently. Sexual maturity in both sexes occurs at 5.5-6.5
years. 2-5 males may compete for a single female, with the male with
higher rank gets priority. The female is in heat for 2-3 days. After copulation and
conception the pandas go back to their solitary life.
Conceptions usually occur between mid-March and mid-May. They peak in
April and early May. If a female doesn't conceive she may go into
heat again in September and October. There is a delayed implantation of the
embryo for 1.5-4 months. Normal gestation period ranges from 97-163
days. Newborns weigh 90-130g and are highly altricial
(helpless,underdeveloped). When twins are born, the mother panda
usually allows one of the cubs to die. A female will chose a hollow
tree or a cave to give birth. The interval between births is 2 years.
If a cub dies within the first year, the female may have another cub
the next year.
Physical and Behavioral Development
of Giant Panda Young during the first 6 months of life.Day 1-2: Young are pink,naked, and blind. Squalls often. Suckles 6-14 times a day for 30 minutes each time.
Day 6-7: Black becomes visible on eye patch,ears, and shoulders. A few days later black on forelegs.
Day 10-12: Black becomes visible on hind legs and other parts darken. Hair becomes more dense.
Day 25: Young looks like small adult. Squalls less often.
Day 35-40: Eyes halfway open, but usually keeps them shut.
Day 45-48: Eyes fully open. Young suckles 8 times a day. It can raise its head and hold it steady.
Day 60: Young suckles 3-4 times a day.
Day 75-80: Young can stand shakily. Deciduous incisors or canines appear.
Day 90: Young is alert and it can coordinate its steps. Suckles 2-3 times a day.
Day 120: Young is very active but still clumsy.
Day 150: Young starts to trot. Suckles 1-2 times a day.
5-6 months: Young has 26-28 teeth-canines,incisors,premolars. Begins to eat bamboo.
8-9 months: Fully weaned
18 months: Young leave their mothers.
In the wild pandas have few natural predators except for humans. Young pandas can be susceptible to leopard attacks. At 2.5 years a panda weighs about 50 lbs it will probably be immune to most natural predation. Wild pandas have been known to live until age 14. Lifespan in captivity rarely exceeds 30years.
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Created by
Christina Bergner on July 1,1997. Updated
February 24,1998.