Melissa 2021

GIANT PANDA

The Giant Panda scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca. It is also known as Panda bear, panda or common panda. It lives in temperate forests in mountains of southwest China. It is considered a national treasure in China.

The male weighs up to 300 pounds and the female weighs up to 200 pounds, with the height being 4 to 5 feet. They can live up to 20 years with male and female living separate lives. Giant pandas feed for up to 14 hours a day and can eat up to 38kg of bamboo.

Is this an endangered species? Yes. Giant pandas are under extreme threat from habitat loss. A large proportion of the panda's habitat has already been logged for timber and fuel wood, or cleared for agriculture and infrastructure to meet the needs of the area's booming population.

Due to habitat loss they are found in small and isolated pockets of their once vast natural range, with severe declines in their population numbers. The construction of tourist facilities and the rapidly increasing number of tourists in the forests is causing significant disturbance to pandas preventing them from breeding.

Giant pandas are generally solitary. While roaming their territories, they mark their routes by spraying urine, clawing tree trunks, and rubbing against objects. Potential predators include jackals, snow leopards and yellow-throated martens, all of which are capable of killing and eating panda cubs.

Giant pandas are peaceful animals. They protect themselves by using their physical strength, and powerful jaws and teeth. Their large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles are designed for crushing bamboo. Giant pandas are excellent climbers and they can swim and, unlike most other bears, do not hibernate for months at time during winter.

I have chosen this animal because of the sadness with the loss of these beautiful animals.