Panda
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A mammal of family Ailuropodidae, related to raccoons and bears; inhabits bamboo forests in mountains; two species: giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) from China; bear-like with large round head; white with black legs, shoulders, chest, ears, and area around eyes; front paw with elongated wrist bone which acts like a sixth digit; grasps bamboo shoots between this extra 'thumb' and the first and second true digits; also the red panda, lesser panda, or cat bear (Ailurus fulgens) found from S China to N Burma; raccoon-like; red-brown with black underparts and tail tip; dark rings around tail; white markings on face.
It has a short tail and a dense white coat with the famous black fur on the shoulders, arms and legs, ears, and around the eyes. The skin under the black fur is black, but the skin under the white fur is pink! They are typically 5' long (1.5m), and weigh around 350 lb (160 kg). The giant panda has sharp claws, so it can climb trees. The front paw has an elongated wrist bone which acts like a thumb, enabling them to grasp their food.
They eat mainly plant material, especially bamboo shoots. Their diet consists of 99% bamboo along with small percentages of fish, pikas, rodents, vines, irises, crocus, and murice grass. Pandas eat in a sitting position for about twelve hours a day. During that time a panda will consume somewhere between twenty-three and thirty-six pounds of food. They can be very picky eaters. There are twenty-five types of bamboo in our world that pandas will eat. Captive pandas will only eat nine of these.
Unlike other bears, the giant panda doesn't hibernate or walk on its hind legs. The Giant Panda breeds when it is 4-10 years old. This usually takes place in Spring (March through May). Baby pandas are born three to six months later, weighing 3-5 pounds (eighty-five to one hundred forty grams). Even though they have very thick fur when grown, baby pandas are pink and hardly have any hair when they're born. Two cubs may be born from one mother at the same time, but only one will survive. This is because one baby panda alone requires a lot of care, and two is much harder so usually the mother chooses one and neglects the other.
Endangered species are living things that are threatened with extinction - i.e. a chance of dying out completely in the near future. Most biologists consider a species endangered if they expect it to become extinct in less than 20 years if nothing is done.
Nearly 1,000 animals and 20,000 plants are considered endangered, including blue whales, some kinds of crocodile, giant pandas, orangutans, rhinoceroses, snow leopards, tigers, and whooping cranes.
The classification as endangered is determined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Extinction can be caused or thereatened by:-
Each species of plant or animal plays a part in the delicate balance of all life systems; so, the extinctions of large numbers of species threatens the survival of other living things - including us!