Giant Panda Bear
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda
The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bearspecies endemic to China. The giant panda has often served as China's national symbol, appeared on Chinese Gold Panda coins since 1982 and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil. Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear many different names, including mò ancient Chinese name for giant panda), huāxióng(; "spotted bear") and zhúxióng ("bamboo bear"). The most popular names in China today are dàxióngmāo ; lit. 'giant bear cat'), or simply xióngmāo ; lit. 'bear cat'). As with the word panda in English, xióngmāo was originally used to describe just the red panda, but dàxióngmāo and xiǎoxióngmāo lit. 'little bear cat') were coined to differentiate between the species. Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, color patterns, and population genetics. The nominate subspecies, A. m. melanoleuca, consists of most extant populations of the giant panda. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colors. The Qinling panda, A. m. qinlingensis, is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m (4,300–9,800 ft). The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and white pattern.
Distribution
The giant panda is endemic to China. It is found in small, fragmented populations in six mountainous regions in the country, mainly in Sichuan, and also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu.
Habitat
The giant panda is exclusively found in six mountainous regions in a few provinces. It is also found in elevations of up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The Daxiangling Mountain population inhabits both coniferous and broadleaf forests. They frequent habitats with a healthy concentration of bamboos, typically primary forests but may also be found in secondary forest habitats. The species have been recorded at elevations of 2,400 to 3,000 m (7,900 to 9,800 ft) above sea level. The giant panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in the hilly province of Sichuan. Giant pandas are generally solitary.
Description
It is characterized by its black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. Adult individuals average 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb.), and are typically 1.2 to 1.9 m (3 ft 11 in to 6 ft 3 in) long. The fur is white, with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. A thumb is visible on the bear's forepaw, which helps in holding bamboo in place for feeding. Giant pandas have adapted larger molars and expanded temporal fossa to meet their dietary requirements. Giant pandas live long lives, with the oldest known individual dying at 38
The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, limbs and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. The bear's distinctive coloration appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments as they do not hibernate. The white areas serve as camouflage in snow, while the black shoulders and legs conceal them in shade.[40] Studies in the wild have found that when viewed from a distance, the panda displays disruptive coloration, while up close, they rely more on blending in. The black ears may be used to display aggression,[40] while the eye patches might facilitate them identifying one another. The giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The panda's skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa. A study revealed that a 117.5 kg (259 lb) giant panda had a biteforce of 1298.9 newtons (BFQ 151.4) at canine teeth and 1815.9 newtons (BFQ 141.8) at carnassial teeth. The giant panda's paw has a digit similar to a thumb and five fingers; the thumb-like digit – actually a modified sesamoid bone – helps it to hold bamboo while eating. The giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second-longest in the bear family, behind the sloth bear. The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. Pandas were thought to fall into the crepuscular category, those who are active twice a day, at dawn and dusk; however, pandas may belong to a category all of their own, with activity peaks in the morning, afternoon and midnight. The low nutrition quality of bamboo means pandas need to eat more frequently, and due to their lack of major predators they can be active at any time of the day. Activity is highest in June and decreases in late summer to autumn with an increase from November through the following March. Activity is also directly related to the amount of sunlight during colder days. There is a significant interaction of solar radiation, such that solar radiation has a stronger positive effect on activity levels of panda bears.
Size
Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 meters (3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches) long, including a tail of about 10–15 cm (4–6 in), and 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb.). Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb.), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb.). The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb.).
Diet
Its diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, making the bear mostly herbivorous, despite being classified in the order Carnivora. Pandas evolved the ability to effectively digest starch, making the shoot an important energy source. Though mostly starch, bamboo shoots are 32% protein, and therefore a good substitute for a carnivorous diet. Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda's diet is primarily herbivorous, with approximately 99% of its diet consisting of bamboo. However, the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes, and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. The ability to break down cellulose and lignin is very weak, and their main source of nutrients comes from starch and hemicelluloses. The most important part of their bamboo diet is the shoots, that are rich in starch and have up to 32% protein content. Accordingly, pandas have evolved a higher capability to digest starches than strict carnivores. Raw bamboo is toxic, containing cyanide compounds. Pandas' body tissues are less able than herbivores to detoxify cyanide, but their gut microbiomes are significantly enriched in putative genes coding for enzymes related to cyanide degradation, suggesting that they have cyanide-digesting gut microbes. It has been estimated that an adult panda absorbs 54.8–66.1 mg (0.846–1.020 gr) of cyanide a day through its diet. To prevent poisoning, they have evolved anti-toxic mechanisms to protect themselves. About 80% of the cyanide is metabolized to less toxic thiocyanate and discharged in urine, while the remaining 20% is detoxified by other minor pathways. During the shoot season (April–August), pandas store a large amount of food in preparation for the months succeeding this seasonal period, in which pandas live off a diet of bamboo leaves. The giant panda is a highly specialised animal with unique adaptations, and has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years. The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 31 lb) of bamboo shoots a day to compensate for the limited energy content of its diet. Ingestion of such a large quantity of material is possible and necessary because of the rapid passage of large amounts of indigestible plant material through the short, straight digestive tract. It is also noted, however, that such rapid passage of digesta limits the potential of microbial digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, limiting alternative forms of digestion. Given this voluminous diet, the giant panda defecates up to 40 times a day. Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, with the most common including Fargesia dracocephala] and Fargesia rufa.[ Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less. Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly ursine teeth and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available.
Hibernation
The bear's distinctive coloration appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments as they do not hibernate. N39 55.287 W080 19.128
Reproduction and development
Pandas will travel between different habitats if they need to, so they can get the nutrients that they need and to balance their diet for reproduction. Giant pandas are solitary, only gathering in times of mating. Females rear cubs for an average of 18 to 24 months. Each adult has a defined territory and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. After mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub. Giant pandas reach maturity between the ages of four and eight, and may be active until age 20. The mating season is between March and May. Giant pandas give birth to twins in about half of pregnancies. If twins are born, usually only one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker cub will die due to starvation. The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for two cubs since she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise the cub. When the cub is first born, it is pink, blind, and toothless weighing only 90 to 130 g (3+1⁄4 to 4+1⁄2 oz), or about 1/800 of the mother's weight, proportionally the smallest baby of any placental mammal. For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed, which leaves the cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns grey where its hair will eventually become black. Slight pink color may appear on the cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. A month after birth, the color pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. Its fur is very soft and coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days; mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year and live with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old.
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