by Olivia

1. The Giant Panda
Scientific name- Ailuropoda Melanoleuca

2. Did you know?
There are approximately 1,000 -1,500 Giant Pandas living in china and
there are approximately 120 living in zoo’s around the world
Not very many at all!

3. Giant pandas are mammals. They are white with black patches found around
the eyes, ear, shoulders, chest, legs and feet and they have cat like eyes. Giant
pandas have unusual paws because they have five finger and one thumb.
Female pandas weight approx 80kg and measure approx 1.8 metres from nose
to tail. Males pandas weight approx 100kg and measure 1.8 metres from it
nose to tail. Giant Pandas have very thick oily fur to keep them warm and it is
water proof. They have 42 teeth which are made up of molars and sharp teeth
which help them to crush through bamboo.

4. The Giant Panda lives in cool, wet, cloudy mountain
forest land where bamboo grow. Farming
development has pushed pandas high into the
mountains to get their food. Giant pandas live in a
few mountain rangers in central and western China.
They live mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu
provinces.

5. Giant Pandas are an endangered species because of three main reasons.
 1. farming and development is
destroying their habitats.
2. poachers hunt Giant Pandas for their fur which they sell.
3. Leopards kill cubs so they are not able to survive to become adults.
There are approx 1,000 – 1,500 Giant Pandas living in China and there are
approx 120 living in zoos around the world.
There is no evidence on how long Giant Pandas live in the wild but in zoos some
pandas have lived to 35 years.

6.  Giant Pandas reproductive rate is very slow and this contributes to
their low numbers and being endangered.
 Male and female Giant Pandas mate in spring and females give birth
95 to 165 days after mating.
 They place their cubs in dens that they dig in the ground and although
they can have up to two cubs usually only one survives. If they don’t
get killed by predators by four years old they are fully grown.

7.  GIANT PANDAS ARE SHY, SOLITARYANIMALS.
 THEYARE MOSTLY SILENT AND THEY DON’T ROAR
LIKE OTHER BEARS.
 THERE IS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF THESE
BEAUTIFULANIMALS IN EXISTENCE TODAY.
 WE ALL NEED TO REALISE THAT BAMBOO FARMING
NEEDS TO STOP AS THIS IS THE GIANT PANDAS
FOOD SUPPLY.

8.  INFORMATION
 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/p
anda/
 http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/classify/712/0
 PICTURES
 kids.poisson.org.uk
 www.zmescience.com
 http://members.enchantedlearning.com/books/animals/p
anda/2.shtml