Giant panda is endemic. panda message

Giant panda or bamboo bear - a species of mammals belonging to the bear family. This is an ancient and valuable animal, which is a symbol of China. He is so loved and revered there that they put him under the protection of the law. Threats for killing an animal the death penalty. It is difficult to confuse him with anyone, thanks to the characteristic black and white color. The mountainous territories of the Republic of China: Tibet and Sichuan - a natural area where pandas live. Prefers to live in mixed coniferous forests where there is bamboo.

Giant panda: description, characteristics

Two Asians are called pandas. predatory species, similar to each other in external data and lifestyle, but belonging to different families. Despite being identical to a bear, a panda long time were considered raccoon representatives.

Appearance description

Bear has fairly large body, with an average weight of 70–120 kg and a height of up to 1.5 m. Males are approximately 10% larger than females. Their body is voluminous, with a thick fur cover. The tail, unlike a bear, is long. The paws are short and massive, with small feet. When walking, he does not completely step on hind legs. To facilitate the grip of bamboo, there are leathery pads between the fingers. The molars are flatter and wider, which makes it possible to grind bamboo stalks.

The head, though large, is in proportion to the body. The muzzle is blunt, on top big ears. stand out standard black color on a white background: glasses around the eyes, marks on the paws, shoulders and ears. The seeming calmness of the bear is deceptive. With its sharp claws, it can cause significant damage to the enemy. characteristic feature, is the speaker thumb on paws.

Where pandas live and characteristic behavior

IN nature, pandas have limited distribution area - moist forests southern and central China. The approximate area of ​​\u200b\u200bpopulation of the mainland is 30 thousand square meters. km. These are rather secluded individuals that do not encroach on the territory of their fellows. Everyone marks their possessions, leaving scratches on the tree bark. They are excellent tree climbers and swimmers, but prefer to live on the ground.

They are most active at night. During the day, they lie in hollows or rocky crevices, where they stay in deep hibernation.

There are a number interesting facts related to lifestyle:

Bears seem to be very silent, but they make unusual sounds when communicating. It resembles the bleating of goats. When irritated or angry, they growl or hum threateningly. Champing speaks of the alert state of the bear, it is better not to approach him. Puppies can squeak and squeal.

Giant panda breeding

With the onset of the breeding season, females are sharply activated. To attract males, they emit a specific smell. According to scientific observations, it is precisely this behavior that is characteristic of sexually inclined individuals. Male representatives begin to compete for the championship, trying to win back the bear they like.

The mating season lasts from March to May. The estrus lasts 2-4 days, when the former vigor in females disappears. They become too restless, lose their appetite. After mating, pregnancy occurs, lasting about 5-6 weeks. Cubs are born in late summer or autumn. Babies appear blind and defenseless, with light fluff. The weight of each varies between 50-160 gr.

Mother Bear takes care of her babies. Helps them get into a comfortable position for sucking milk. Up to 15 times a day, newborns are applied to the nipples. The duration of each feeding is at least 30 minutes. At 3 weeks of age, they can already open their eyes, and at 3-4 months they begin to move independently. The cubs stay with their mother for up to 18 months., and weaned from milk at 45-46 weeks.

It should be noted that pandas do not breed well in captivity. Most often, twins are born. Of these, the female chooses the strongest, and cares for him. The second one usually dies.

What do giant pandas eat

The very name "bamboo bear" speaks for itself. These animals are considered carnivores, although their main diet is vegetable. They have adapted to use order 30 varieties of bamboo trees. Roots, young shoots, even old stems are eaten. With their strong jaws, they grind up hard sections of wood.

Them digestive system completely tuned in to the digestion of such raw materials. The esophagus and stomach are covered with a mucous membrane that prevents injury from chips. Since the vegetation is poorly absorbed, the bears have to eat up to 15-18 kg per day. So, they can maintain their vitality. All the time they are awake, about 10-12 hours a day, they constantly chew.

A meager diet does not allow giant pandas to store energy for a long time. This causes a limited perimeter where they can live. Just not enough strength for long transitions. Sometimes pandas taste:

Water is taken mainly from bamboo stalks. Every day they go down to the reservoirs, and there they absorb the volume they lack.

With artificial content their nutritious menu is more varied: sugar cane, rice porridge, fruits, protein biscuit, apples, carrots, potatoes.

To date, the average life span of pandas is 25–30 years. As soon as the world learned about such outlandish bears, the number of poaching raids increased. The skins of these valuable animals are constantly hunted. Despite the severe punishment for killing pandas, the high cost of prey is overpowering. In zoos, this is one of the most popular specimens, always attracting attention.

I just love animals and I think that each of them is beautiful in its own way. It seems to me that you cannot find a person who would not be touched by big fluffy pandas. And it is very unfortunate that human cruelty has led to the fact that now there is a struggle for their existence. :(

panda habitat

Much popularity now belongs to big black and white pandas and few people know that there are their little relatives red pandas. No matter how scary it sounds, both of these species are listed in Red Book. Red pandas are more common and live in countries such as:

Giant pandas in full belong to China and can only be transferred to other countries by lease agreement, which is concluded on special conditions, with a system of fines and a high cost (an average of $ 1 million per year).

The reluctance to part with pandas led to the formation of such a term as panda diplomacy. The panda gift can only mean that China's intentions are very serious. However, it should be noted that most often pandas are transmitted only in pairs both under a lease agreement and as a gift. Which increases the chances of getting a little baby panda. :)

While the red panda is not as popular, the giant panda has won the hearts of many with its cute clumsiness. If only to imagine, in a day they eat 30 kilos of bamboo move from branch to branch, while their weight can reach more than 150 kilograms. Related to this is that pandas very often fall from branches that simply cannot stand them.

panda conservation action

Giant panda - badge WWF. In order to draw attention to the problem of the extinction of these cute furry animals, an installation was made of 1600 baby pandas, equal to the number of the remaining population in nature.

As part of the action, 1,600 pandas made a world tour and traveled through cities with stops at the most popular places in world capitals.

P.S. Appreciate nature and love animals, because no one but us can help them!

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I still remember that ice cream kiosk, where they brought not an ordinary ice cream in cups, but in the form pandas on a stick, with chocolate ears and paws! The queue was miles long. Figured ice cream in the late 80s is a significant event for small town. This is what I mean ... And to the fact that holding panda ice cream in my hands, I first learned about it exotic animal. Subsequently, my knowledge of plush tumblers expanded - I read a lot about them.

What are pandas

Initially, I thought that all pandas were the same - black and white with black stripes on their eyes (they are also called giant pandas). It turns out that there is another species called small (or red) panda.

They differ not only appearance, but also area of ​​residence, and way of life.

small (red) panda
giant panda

Where and how pandas live

The homeland of pandas and their main place of residence is China. The most favorite places for giant pandas in China are:

• the highlands of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau;
• Sichuan Province,
• Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

Red same panda, in addition to the Chinese provinces, she also chose:

• Bhutan and Myanmar;
• Sikkim and Assam (states in India);

• the forests of the Himalayas and the mountains of northern Burma;
• sometimes red pandas run through and across Nepal.

Pandas live, mostly well and in abundance, due to the fact that the Chinese government has begun to protect them intensely. Both the big and small pandas are listed in the Red Book, as an endangered species, so they have all the conditions for a comfortable life and reproduction. By the way, pandas do not really like to fall in love and breed. They would like to eat and play. Pandas eat a lot. Especially bamboo. In order for a panda to feel comfortable, she needs 1500 hectares of bamboo forest(for one adult).

You can meet pandas in zoos any big city. Interestingly, the Chinese rent their pandas to zoos for $1 million a year. If their panda gives birth cub, then the zoo is obliged to give it back To China to restore the gene pool. It's all so serious.

By the way, another panda (red) was supposed to settle on the logo of the well-known Mozilla browser. But the designer was afraid that the animal would not be recognizable, and replaced red panda on the fox Although they are very, very similar.

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My kids just adore animals, often ask about any species, read various scientific books about them and, of course, often ask me to go to the zoo with them. Just a couple of days ago, a unique event took place in one of the Moscow zoos - a panda cub was born. Naturally, my children found out about this and literally forced me to take them there.

Where do bamboo pandas live?

Pandas are beautiful, cute creatures that are very look like teddy bears. I don’t know if you have ever seen this animal in your life, but I want to say that pandas produce an indelible delight, both for children and adults.

Unfortunately, the panda population is declining every year, and their only habitat in wild nature are Chinese forests. As far as I know, in natural environment habitat only about1000 pandas which, of course, is very sad. This happens due to the fact that pandas simply have nowhere to live and nothing to eat. Long years in China was mass felling bamboo forests and Bamboo makes up 90% of pandas' diet. Thus, we can say that humanity is to blame for the fact that these animals are on the verge of extinction. Fortunately, in 2012, China passed a law banning deforestation in areas where pandas live.

In addition, of course, these animals also live in many zoos and reserves. The employees of these institutions are doing their best to provide such living conditions for pandas that will contribute to reproduction of these creatures.

What do pandas eat

As I said, bamboo leaves are the basis of the diet of these animals, however, in unnatural environment habitat pandas can eat:

1. Tree mushrooms.
2. Flowers.
3. Fish.
4. Eggs.
5. Honey.
6. small mammals.

Pandas spend most of their day looking for, eating and digesting food. I heard that in a day they can eat up to 25 kg of bamboo shoots.

Pandas are wonderful animals which certainly do not carry any harm in themselves. I really hope that people will come to their senses and be able to save these "teddy" bears from extinction.

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I don’t know about you, but when I see a photo of a panda, I immediately want to hug this “teddy bear”. In China, there is even such a job - hugging pandas. If I knew Chinese, I would not hesitate for a long time and would go there to work. But I don't know Chinese, so I can only watch pandas on the Internet or in zoos.

Where do pandas live

Giant panda- this is very rare animal. Once upon a time scientists didn't think she was a bear and attributed to raccoons, into a separate family. pandas live in places inaccessible to tourists. This mountainous regions of southern and central China.In past they also lived in Indochina And on the island of Kalimantan, but due to the destruction of bamboo forests, pandas have become extinct here. Pandas live there where lots of bamboo, because they are eat. But only young shoots of bamboo are suitable for eating. This is not a very nutritious food and to satisfy hunger, panda needs eat up to 30 kilograms this plant. Pandas feed at night. They break off young plants with their paws and chew them for almost 12 hours. Pandas sleep during the day.

But in natural environment see pandas practically impossible. They are very secretive animals. The only way - visit zoos. Where do bamboo bears live:

• Schönbrunn Zoo, ;
• center for the study and breeding of giant pandas, ;
• zoo, ;
• Madrid Zoo, ;
• zoo in Edinburgh.

Pandas are heavily guarded. Today they there are only 1600 individuals. Once upon a time, poachers killed them for their beautiful skins, but now it is prohibited by law, especially since killing a panda is punishable by death. In China The giant panda is a national treasure.

Seeing a panda for the first time only in 1913. And today this wonderful animal is already Grises extinction. What interesting things I dug up about the "bamboo bears".

Detachment - Predators

Family - bearish

Genus/Species - Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Giant panda or bamboo bear

Basic data:

DIMENSIONS

Body length: male - 150 cm, female somewhat smaller.

Tail length: up to 16 cm.

Shoulder height: 60-70 cm.

Weight: up to 150 kg, females are smaller.

BREEDING

Puberty: from 6-7 years old.

Mating period: most likely March-May.

Pregnancy: 97-163 days.

Number of cubs: 1-2.

LIFESTYLE

Habits: giant pandas (see photo) are solitary animals.

Food: mostly thin sprouts and partially bamboo roots, tree bark, flowers, mushrooms, berries, fish, small rodents, eggs.

RELATED SPECIES

The giant panda is isolated in a special subfamily in the bear family, its closest relatives are other members of the family.

For many years, scientists have argued about where to attribute the giant panda - to the bear or raccoon family. According to 16 characteristics, it is close to bears and only 5 to raccoons, and another 12 characteristics are unique to it alone. The giant panda was classified as a bear, while the small panda belongs to the raccoon family.

BREEDING

Male and female giant pandas are found only on a short time during the mating period. The female's pregnancy lasts five months. Cubs are born most often in January. Each time the female gives birth to one cub. The cub is born in a nest made of bamboo. If a female gives birth to twins, then only one baby survives. The panda cub is small: its length is 15 cm, and its weight is about 15.6 g. The newborn is blind and helpless. At first it is pure white, but after a month it already acquires the color of an adult bear.

FOOD

Despite the fact that the giant panda belongs to the order of carnivores, this animal feeds mainly plant food. Into the diet giant panda includes thin sprouts and partially roots of bamboo, as well as other plants and tubers. If bamboo is the only source of food available, a panda can spend half a day eating. Bamboo contains little nutrients, so the animal, in order to get enough, eats about 20 kg of green mass per day. Therefore, the giant panda is also called the bamboo bear. Giant pandas destroy bird nests, eat their eggs, catch insects, rodents.

LIFESTYLE

The Chinese call the giant panda "i xion mao", which means "big cat bear". Emperors kept pandas in their palaces because they believed they could protect them from misfortune. Giant pandas are solitary animals. Most of the day they devote to eating, and during the rest of the time they rest. To hide from bad weather and enemies, unlike brown bears, leopards or other animals, pandas climb trees. When resting, giant pandas settle on the ground without making a shelter for themselves. Bamboo thickets are dense, so the panda is reliably protected from danger on the ground. The giant panda lives in areas with a cold climate, in mountainous areas. Thick fur protects her from the cold.

GIG PANDA AND MAN

The giant panda only became known in the Western world in 1869. For the first time, naturalists observed a panda in nature only in 1913. Formerly a man was the most serious enemy of the giant panda. People are responsible for the fact that the number of these animals has declined catastrophically. It is people who destroy their places of residence: where bamboo forests used to be, today numerous settlements or fields are cultivated or pastures formed. As a result of rash human actions after the death of bamboo forests, giant pandas were doomed to starvation, because they are not able to get through the fields and villages that are on their way to young bamboo groves. The giant panda - the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature - is under strict protection. There is practically no hunting for giant pandas. But sometimes these animals fall into traps set on other animals. People plant trees so that pandas can move from forest to forest along the forest corridors. To preserve these rare animals, reservations are created.

DEVICE FEATURES

From relatives, the giant panda differs in food preferences. Predators use their incisors to tear and mince meat, while the giant panda uses its incisors to pluck bamboo shoots. Oddly enough, but the giant panda, which feeds almost exclusively on plants, it is very difficult to digest bamboo. Therefore, most of the ingested plant mass quickly passes through the body, and the panda has to eat a huge amount of shoots of this plant in order to obtain the necessary nutrients.

GENERAL PROVISIONS. INFORMATION

The giant panda or bamboo bear is on the verge of extinction. There are about 700 pandas left in nature, and about 120 more in zoos. Image of a giant panda decorates the emblem International Union nature conservation.

This bear-shaped (body length 120-180 cm, weight 75-160 kg) lives in the mountain bamboo forests of China at an altitude of 2600 - 3500 m above sea level. It feeds mainly on fruits and roots of bamboo, other plants and small animals. Once every two years, the female gives birth to 1-2 cubs, which are born blind and weigh about 2 kg.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT...

• Often, a giant panda dedicates to eating from 12 to 16 hours a day. Most of the green mass absorbed by her quickly passes through her digestive tract.
• A panda is distinguished from bears by a rather long (12-16 cm) tail. With it, she marks the territory with the secret of the anal glands.
• Giant pandas do not hibernate. In bad weather, animals hide in hollow trees or in rocky crevices.
• The giant panda is the symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• Pandas were first described by Father Armand David in 1869 when he discovered them in China. By that time, nothing was known about this animal in the Western world.
• Pandas have strong molars.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF BAMBOO FORESTS

Approximately every 50 years, bamboo forests in a certain area bloom, produce seeds and die. This phenomenon in last time observed in 1983. At the same time, giant pandas often die of starvation, as they cannot move through human-populated areas and fields to reach young bamboo forests.

- Giant panda habitat

WHERE THE GIG PANDA LIVES

Giant panda lives in mountain forests South China. It is found in the northern and central regions of Sichuan province, in the mountains surrounding southern part Gansu, and in the mountains on the southern border of Shaanxi.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

The giant panda is one of the rarest and very little studied large animals. The total number of pandas, according to various sources, ranges from 200 to 900 individuals.

Giant panda or bamboo bear. Video (00:00:58)

Panda eats, has fun, walks. Panda, fun walks. Video (00:01:50)

The Chinese name (?? xiongmao xiongmao) means "cat bear".
Pandas at the San Diego Zoo.
Giant panda or bamboo bear. Pandas live in the mountainous regions of central China: Sichuan and Tibet.
In length, the panda reaches 1.2-1.5 m and has a mass of 30 to 160 kg. Unlike other bears, it has a rather long tail 10-15 cm. The body is massive, covered with thick white fur with black spots around the eyes (“glasses”), black ears and black paws. Short thick hind legs have sharp claws. Pandas are carnivores, but their diet is overwhelmingly vegetarian. In fact, they only eat bamboo. An adult panda eats up to 30 kg of bamboo and shoots per day. Leasing giant pandas to zoos in the United States and Japan was an important part of Chinese diplomacy in the 1970s. Since 1984, China has offered pandas to other countries on a 10-year lease. The standard terms of the lease include a rent of US$1 million per year and guarantees that all cubs born during the lease period are the property of the PRC.

Giant panda takes water treatments. Video (00:01:15)

Edinburgh Zoo, a giant panda named Tian Tian feels completely at ease in the pool with cold water. Big bold panda, do not say anything.

The giant panda is a bear, a predator, but feeds mainly on bamboo. It is listed in the international Red Book as an endangered animal species.

PANDA decides to escape! Video (00:01:27)

The panda or bamboo bear no longer wants to be locked up and decides to escape. The little panda with great effort overcomes all the difficulties in its path, but at the very last moment everything breaks down. Want to know more? Then watch the new funny video about the adventure of these funny animals!

Chengdu Giant Panda Sanctuary in China. Video (00:02:31)

Extinction in three generations threatens the wild panda, the unofficial symbol of China and the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), due to deforestation and infrastructure construction, writes the Global Times on Monday, citing WWF expert Fan Zhiyong. According to the specialist, the habitat of the panda, also known as the "bamboo bear", is constantly decreasing due to the cutting down of bamboo forests and the construction of infrastructure such as highways and hydroelectric power plants. So, from 1975 to 1985, the area of ​​panda habitat in China "shrinked" from 29.5 thousand to 13 thousand square kilometers. "In addition, the roads make it difficult for pandas to migrate, which prevents mating between animals from different groups and the normal renewal of the gene pool," Fan said. "There is a problem of inbreeding - this entails the birth of weak offspring, often incapable of reproductive activity," the expert believes. Now 239 pandas live in captivity in China, another 1.59 thousand live in bamboo groves in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Is the giant panda dangerous to humans? Video (00:00:34)

People groaned and groaned. The giant panda headed straight for the people with a determined gait. Only at the very end of the video it became clear that there was glass between them :)
The giant panda is a predator. Reaches 160 kg of weight. The length of the males giant panda(they are larger and heavier than females) can reach 1.8 meters.
So decide for yourself if it's worth the risk? There have been cases of panda attacks on humans. Most likely these cases
provoked by the man himself. The giant panda is considered a very calm animal and if you do not ask for it yourself, it is unlikely to show its aggression.

Among the representatives of the animal kingdom of the planet there are such unusual specimens of the fauna that pundits do not even immediately understand: how to classify them and whose relatives to recognize. Such creatures include panda.

At one time, serious disputes broke out between zoologists in order to find out which family this animal belongs to. Painfully unusual looks like this mysterious mammal, covered with fluffy hair.

And at first they decided that this beast was closest to raccoons, only much larger in size. True, there were those who saw in the panda a relationship with tigers, leopards and foxes. But genetic studies have refuted these assumptions, concluding that this cute animal still has much more related traits with bears.

And the manner of moving, in particular, the clumsiness characteristic of pandas, only confirmed this fact. Therefore, in the end, they were still classified as a family of bears, specifying that individual signs of a raccoon are still observed in these creatures.

But on this questions and discussions about what animal is panda, have not run out, because the creatures that experts in the animal world have agreed to call giant pandas also have a smaller relative. And with the classification of the latter, everything turned out to be even more difficult. But more on that later.

For the first time in literary sources, this representative of the fauna was mentioned in ancient collections of Chinese poetry and historical annals Celestial. The age of such records is estimated at about three millennia.

By the way, the Chinese called such an animal: Xiongmao, which translates as "bear-cat." And this nickname speaks for itself about the appearance of the animal and its habits.

The giant panda reaches a size of about one and a half meters, but if we add the size of the tail to its length, which is about 12.5 cm, then the measurement result will increase slightly.

The weight of the animal is approximately 160 kg. The coat colors of these bizarre creatures, like them, are very unique. Their head hair is impressively white, but the circles framing their eyes are black.

The ears and tail are of the same color, as well as a band on the body resembling a collar. Their paws, disproportionately small in comparison with the body, are also black.

An interesting detail of the structure is distinguished by the forelimbs of animals. They are endowed with six fingers. But to be more precise, there are only five fingers, and the addition to them should be considered only a bone carpal outgrowth covered with skin.

And such a modification turns out to be very useful in helping animals survive in the natural world.

There are giant pandas in some provinces of China, in particular, in Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan, as well as in Tibet, where they choose wild areas of the area overgrown with bamboo for their livelihoods.

That is why such animals were nicknamed bamboo bears. The just mentioned feature of the structure of the paws allows them to easily hold the stems of plants, in the thickets of which they love to hide.

They grab them with their front limbs. And also paws with six fingers help them climb very tall trees.

panda species

Continuing our story about two: large and small varieties of these amazing representatives of the fauna, we note: despite the antiquity of the sources where they are described, they became truly known to the world only a little over a century ago.

Painfully rare these creatures that live in the Asian expanses. Discussions about their classification are also complicated by the fact that the small variety of pandas has too many differences from the previously described one, and therefore they were refused to be included in the bear family.

We have to admit: the origin of these creatures remains a mystery until today.

The small panda among the representatives of the terrestrial fauna also found many relatives. Such creatures were attributed to the family of skunks, raccoons, mustelids. But in the end they were forced to abandon this venture.

Little panda it doesn’t look like anyone, and therefore it is ranked as an independent family of small pandas. And with the mentioned animals, a distant similarity in structure and behavior with which is noticed, it is combined into the marten-like superfamily.

However, with his big brother, the small pandas still have a lot of similarities. In particular, they are similar in the presence of a sixth pseudo-finger.

The size of this animal is only 55 cm. The red panda boasts a long, fluffy, in special cases almost half a meter tail. The body of the animal is elongated; the muzzle is sharp, short. Also features of the appearance are: a wide head, triangular ears; legs are strong, but short.

The colors of these creatures are impressive in variety. bright colors. The shade of the upper body is fiery red, for which such creatures were nicknamed red pandas. But the bottom is noticeably darker. It can be black or brown-red. The whole gamut of the outfit is nicely complemented by light patches of wool.

The habitat of these animals is larger than that of the previous species. But their ancestors were distributed, as studies show, even wider and were found even in Europe, as well as in the territory North America.

Modern red pandas have taken root only in Asian territories, as a rule, east of the Himalayas. More precisely: in China, in some of its areas; in the bamboo-covered, northeastern parts of India, as well as in Nepal.

Lifestyle and habitat

Both species, as has already been found out, are inhabitants of Asia, and their favorite habitat is mountain forests, where there is enough food for them. Therefore, animals have a slow character and lead a leisurely, calm lifestyle, mainly engaged in searching for food and chewing it.

Panda – nocturnal animal, so in daytime these creatures indulge in rest, hiding in comfortable hollows of trees or other cozy places. Red pandas sleep in a very interesting position: curled up and covering long tail head.

Both species of animals with agility are able to move through the trees, and on the ground they seem completely clumsy and feel awkward. In view of such features, if the animals are in danger, they try to hide from enemy pursuit by climbing up a tree.

Such animals are famous for their funny movements and extremely cute for their amusing clumsiness. And therefore, if they find themselves in a zoo, they always attract attention. In addition, they have a playful disposition, they like to play pranks and amuse the children.

This behavior is especially characteristic of young individuals. For these qualities, pandas are officially recognized as the cutest creatures on the planet. And such an honorary title is even noted in the Guinness Book of Records.

In addition, the charm of these animals is adequately appreciated in their homeland, in China. In this country, they have become a national emblem. And the laws of the state prohibit the hunting of these animals. It should be noted that this measure is forced and there were good reasons for its introduction.

The fact is that these representatives of the fauna are becoming less and less in the world. According to reports, at the end of the last century, there were no more than a thousand specimens of giant pandas in nature. Therefore, for the killing of such animals in China, the punishment at a certain time was the death penalty.

With a small relative, things are not so sad, but enhanced measures are still being taken to protect these creatures. Another reason for the decline in the panda population was climate change on the planet.

In view of this, the environment to which they are accustomed continues to be preserved only in limited areas of the Earth. And as a result, cute cute creatures are threatened with complete extinction.

However, despite the strictest prohibitions, the extermination of pandas still continues. And the problem of poaching seems to be more than serious. And the main attractive factor for hunters is the beautiful fur of these extremely cute and attractive representatives of the terrestrial fauna.

Nutrition

The giant panda is related to bears. And, therefore, according to natural laws, it should be a predatory creature. But there are enough exceptions in the rules, especially for unique creatures nature.

And therefore here it is necessary to take into account the habit of existence in certain conditions. Let's remember where panda lives. These creatures prefer to settle in bamboo thickets, and therefore, taking into account the characteristics of the environment, they have learned and are terribly fond of eating the stems and roots of this plant.

And it is in their diet is the most basic and favorite dish. In addition, it is eaten in large quantities, because adults, due to the low productivity of such food as bamboo, are forced to consume it in an amount of up to 15 kg per day.

And such a long habit of eating exactly bamboo, which is inherent in these animals at the genetic level, simply cannot but affect biological device organism. The giant panda is not able to live without this plant.

And therefore, if bamboo thickets die, pandas also die. But the characteristic features of the structure of the predator's digestion are still preserved. As a result, the stomach of such animals is not quite adapted to the thorough processing of this type of food.

Therefore, these animals are forced to regularly supplement their menu with fish, bird eggs and their meat. They also prey on small mammals.

By the way, when dealing with these cute and cute animals in the zoo, one should not forget about their predatory nature. Lulled by the charm of these creatures, people cease to take into account the fact that they are quite capable of showing aggression as well.

As for the small pandas, they are content with about the same diet, plus they also eat mushrooms. During the day they eat about 4 kg of bamboo, but always juicy young shoots.

Reproduction and lifespan

Panda – animal with extremely low fertility. And this, unfortunately, is one of the reasons why these original cute creatures have become very rare on the planet. Period love games and subsequent mating usually occurs in the spring and lasts up to two weeks.

And the signal for their beginning is a specific smell emanating from animals, the appearance of which is facilitated by substances secreted by special glands.

During courtship and marriage rituals, you can hear these representatives Asian fauna, peculiar, very loud sounds. Next, panda moms carry their babies for the next five (or a little more) months.

At the same time, the cub born after the specified period has a very small size. He is helpless, nondescript, blind and naked. But it grows fast enough, and a tender mother does not skimp on caring for him.

It often happens that not one baby is born, but twins. But only the strongest survive. At the same time, the mother chooses the most viable herself, and refuses attention to the other, condemning to death.

The period of breastfeeding is carried out for about one and a half months. But the cub at the end breastfeeding does not leave the mother for a long time, and she continues to educate until the offspring is 3 years old.

Panda babies are distinguished by their extreme desire to constantly move and learn. the world and also they love to play and have fun. They mature as sexually mature individuals at about five years of age.

But they acquire a full-fledged ability to mate only after another two years. The lifespan of such creatures is measured at approximately 20 years. The Chinese government annually spends huge amounts of money on the protection of these rare and unusual animals, declared national treasures in the country.

Panda (or bamboo bear) is a representative of mammals from the raccoon family. Pandas are the name of two species of Asian mammals from the order of carnivores, similar friend on a friend and outward signs and lifestyle, but belonging to different families. The body length of the giant panda reaches 1.5 meters, and with a tail - 12.5 cm more. Its mass reaches 160 kg.

Where the panda lives, the lifestyle and habits of this cute animal will be discussed in this article.

It should be noted that now in natural natural conditions only a little more than 1,500 animals have survived; in this regard, the panda is listed in the famous Red Book. Steps are being taken to conserve and prevent their extinction in order to increase the number of these cute animals.

Panda - an animal resembling a raccoon or a bear

The appearance of a panda strongly resembles a bear. However, they have differences: a different structure of teeth and different length tail. Panda has long been considered a "huge raccoon", due to the similarity of the anatomical features of a raccoon with a small panda (it was unconditionally considered a raccoon).

The peasants of China have always called this animal "polar bear", and also "bamboo bear", which turned out to be closer to the truth, which scientists finally figured out quite recently.

Usually these animals live in bamboo forests in dense thickets in China, on the islands of Kalimantan and Indonesia.

In order to eat, the adult organism of the “bamboo bear” needs to eat about 18 kg of young shoots and stalks of succulent bamboo during the day. The animal grinds greens with its jaws. This is a very low-nutrient food, in connection with which all its free time(about 12 hours a day) the panda is forced to chew.

In addition to this food, she can also eat carrion. This small birds and animals that a real bear uses very rarely, only in exceptional cases.

Those places where pandas live (the country of China and the islands) for these rare exotic animals are both a good shelter and the main source of food.

Lifestyle

The bamboo plant blooms quite rarely: once in 10, it happens in 100 years, depending on their species. With all this, they all bloom at once and form seeds, and then they all die out at the same time over a large area. Bamboo seeds take root in at least a year, and in order for new thickets to appear, at least 20 years must pass. In this regard, pandas have to search for new habitats where they could feed themselves and their cubs.

In the wild, where the panda lives, not everything is so optimistic. The “bamboo bear” lives alone, and only once a year (during the mating season) meets with a female or male to breed. As a result, only one and rarely two completely naked, helpless and blind cubs are born.

The eyes of newborns open only after a month, and after only 3 weeks, fur appears. The weight of the baby at birth is only 175 grams, he gains up to 4 kilograms by 2 months, but by mature age- even up to 160 kg.

Panda in the Red Book

Pandas living in nature have a hard time: a person deforests during the development of territories, and therefore most of the individuals short period three-day marriage time does not find its partners and as a result remains without offspring. Thus, the population is reduced (about 700 individuals).

The panda has long been included in the Red Book, and each newly born animal is a great value and a very joyful event.

At this time in China, where the panda lives, the animal is considered a national treasure of this country. Surprisingly wonderful Panda is a symbol of friendship and peace. Thanks to this careful attitude to this animal, many individuals live under the strict protection of national reserves.