Answers to popular panda questions

Why cant pandas hibernate?
-It is impossible for them to accumulate enough fat to last the entire winter, especially with a diet based on bamboo (8).

Is lucky bamboo actually bamboo?
-No, it is not a species of bamboo. It is a type of lily known as Dracaena sanderiana. Bamboo plants are a common symbol for good health. The number of stalks of bamboo determines the amount of luck received. For example, three stalks of bamboo symbolize happiness, wealth, and longevity (9).

What kinds of activities do pandas do in zoos?
-Pandas are very flexible and like to do somersaults. They also like to play with piles of ice or puzzles made of bamboo with food inside. (7). To see exactly what a panda does follow this like and watch the video at the top of the page.

Panda Cam from the San Diego Zoo:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html

Why are pandas the symbol for peace in China?
-Pandas are seen as peaceful animals because they rarely feed on other animals. This comes from the ancient belief that pandas fed on copper and iron. The panda was also depicted on flags to signal surrender during wartime (6).

Are pandas always very large?
-No. At birth, pandas are 1/900th the size of its mother (4)!

When did the panda first come to the US?
-The first panda came to the US in 1936. It came to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago(6,10).

How many giant pandas live in captivity?
-Approximately 140 pandas live in captivity (10).

How do pandas consume so much bamboo at a time?
-Pandas have a thick esophagus in order to swallow large pieces of bamboo (8).

What kind of shelter does the giant panda need?
-Pandas often sleep under trees. Bamboo is also a source of shelter for the giant panda (7).

If you have any further panda questions please feel free to ask. I hope that many organizations will continue to help the panda because it will remain an endangered animal if no one helps. I believe that creating patches of land for pandas to meet other pandas is the best way to help the pandas. I also think that educating the public about the endangerment of the panda is also helpful.

What is being done to help the panda?

Luckily, many people, including myself, are worried about the future of the panda. Fortunately, there is a lot that is being done to help the panda. Many groups are working to educate the public on the panda and the threats to its existence. The Defenders of Wildlife and the World Wildlife Fund are among those groups (1). The World Wildlife Fund has developed a conservation plan for the pandas. The plan includes 14 new panda reserves and five areas that will connect patches of panda habitat (2). The connected patches will allow pandas to move to other areas where they can associate with other pandas and mate to increase the panda population. All of these areas are in the mountains of Southwestern China (3). They are also creating breeding centers, in addition to reserves, in China. The most famous reserve is the Wolong Nature Reserve. It is famous for the China Conversation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. The nature reserve is a temperate forest with many rare mammals, plants, and insects. By protecting the panda in this reserve, many other species are also getting protected. This is needed to maintain biodiversity in the forest (3).

Many people have come to realize that the panda may disappear soon. We can help the panda by reducing tourism in the areas where the pandas are located because humans are one of the major reasons of endangerment (4). Educating the public is very important. Poaching and logging need to stop in order to help the panda. The good news is the threats of logging and poaching have reduced recently (4). Humans can also plant bamboo which will increase the food supply for the panda (9). If the amount of reserves continues to grow, the food supplies for the panda increase, and if humans do their part, the panda will hopefully be around for many more years. The panda is currently the symbol for the World Wildlife Fund (6).

What are general characteristics of the giant panda?

The giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is a medium sized bear with black and white fur (1,3). The giant panda lives in the temperate forests of southwest China. It is a symbol of peace in China (6). The panda has lived in a bamboo forest for millions of years. When pandas stand on all four legs they can reach 1 meter tall and 2.5 meters long. They can weigh up to 115 kg. The males weigh more than the female pandas so the female pandas rarely reach 110 kg.

The anatomy of the giant panda is linked to their function. Their front paws have thumbs that extend from the wrist that allow them to easily grab bamboo (their main food source) (3). They also have flat molar teeth to help them crush the bamboo once it’s in their mouth. They have a white coat, which is covered with black fur around their eyes, legs, shoulders, and ears. The fur keeps them well adapted to their environment. The fur is very coarse to keep the panda warm, but it is also oily which helps get rid of water to cool the panda (4). They have small eyes and poor vision (2).

99% of a panda’s diet is bamboo, but they also eat flowers, honey, leaves, sugarcane, carrots, apples, and the occasional rodent (1,3,5,6). Pandas eat different parts of the bamboo based on the season. For example, in May they consume mainly old stems, whereas in October they eat mainly leaves. They consume easily 28 pounds of bamboo per day. They need to eat a lot of bamboo because most of it is passed as waste, therefore they need a lot for nutrients. They get a lot of water from bamboo, but the panda also drinks from water and streams (5). Lack of bamboo is a reason for endangerment that will be discussed more in the following blog.

Unlike most other bears, pandas do not hibernate. In the winter they move to elevations that are lower in order to stay warm, but during the winter they move to higher elevations to attempt to stay cool (1). Pandas are lonely animals. Males and females only meet during breeding season (5). They can sense another panda by "scent marking" (tracing the smell) (6). Pandas are good tree climbers and swimmers (1). They use their skills to escape predators (2). They move well silently in order to get away from their predators easily. They move by walking, but they can also trot very quickly (6). Panda’s are endangered on the Red List. There are an estimated 2,000 pandas in the wild (1), and more than 160 pandas that live in zoos (5). They can live to be 18-20 years old in the wild and up to 30 years old in captivity (6). Since pandas are endangered, I will discuss reasons for endangerment in the next blog topic.

Why Are Panda's Endangered?

Giant pandas are endangered, which means, they are currently in danger of becoming extinct if changes are not made. The major factors that contribute to the giant pandas endangerment is the loss of their habitat, much of which is a result of a growing human population. As mentioned in my last blog, Pandas live in China. They are endangered in China (2). China has the largest population in the world and it continues to grow. Since it has the most amount of people, humans are taking land from the pandas in order for them to find a place to live. This forces the pandas to live in the mountains (3). The population of pandas is then fragmented into different areas in China, isolated from other pandas (6). Since they are isolated, they cannot meet other pandas in order to mate (3). This also makes the pandas less genetically diverse and disrupts their social organization (6). The land the panda occupies is used for medical herb collecting, which disrupts the pandas natural habitat. Large scale development such as roads on land also divides their habitat. The land is also cleared for timber and agriculture (4). Tourism also disrupts the land used by the pandas. The loss of the pandas habitat is the major cause of their endangerment, but there are other causes.

Another reason for the pandas endangerment is the result of bamboo die-offs (1). In the Sichuan Province, the amount of bamboo shrunk by 50% between 1974 and 1989. Bamboo is frequently being harvested (4). A disadvantage of bamboo is that all bamboo of a certain species will grow and die at the same time in specific areas (7). Since pandas need a lot of bamboo to survive, the shortage of bamboo is a reason for their endangerment.

Poaching is also a reason for the panda bears endangerment. Pandas are poached for their skin (6). There is a ten year jail sentence for poaching a panda (4). Pandas often fall into traps set for other animals (7).

In my next blog I will discuss what is being done to help the pandas.