Is a majestic creature that has greatly improved man’s way of life, and many people don’t even realize it. Giant pandas are scientifically known as the Ailuropoda melanoleuca. The bible even recognizes the greatness in all animals, even the giant panda, like in Genesis 1:24-26 where it says “And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.
” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” The specific characteristics and behaviors of a giant panda produce a bamboo lover.
Giant pandas have a body structure and features that greatly aid in their way of life, habitat, and many other important aspects critical to survival. Fully matured, males are about 3 feet tall when on all four legs, and 5-6 feet tall when standing up.
They also grow to the astounding mass of around two hundred and fifty pounds when fully grown Surprisingly, unlike the hefty males, the female giant panda rarely reaches the weight of two hundred and twenty pounds. Females also only grow to be around 2-3 feet tall on all four feet and 4-5 feet standing up.
The giant panda only has black fur on a few select places on its body. These are on its face, specifically on its eye patches and ears, its muzzle, legs, and shoulders, while the rest of the panda is white.
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People believe that these beautiful markings have underlying meanings and purposes, used in the panda’s lifestyle every day. Some believe the black and white markings are used to maintain its temperature, since the color white reflects sunlight, keeping the panda cool in specific areas, and black to attract sunlight to warm the panda in ideal places, including the paws that climb on the ice and snow. Researchers also believe the pandas’ unique markings help distinguish one panda from another.
The giant pandas’ fur is thick and course to protect them from the harsh conditions in their natural habitat. It is this way, especially on their legs to help it climb around in its mountainous habitat, which is covered by snow, ice, and forests. Their legs are also staggered shorter in the front and longer in the back to aid in climbing around. To add to the list of specialties, these creatures have vertical pupils that give them exquisite night vision. Giant pandas also have false thumbs to help them hold their bamboo while eating. When doing so, they push their first two fingers against this false thumb to hold onto their bamboo. They also have no shearing or incisor teeth. The giant pandas’ teeth are mainly made up of molars and a few k-9 teeth. To defend it, they have a thick skull and powerful chewing muscles. Without these defining and elegant characteristics, specially designed and tailored to its needs, the giant panda would not be able to thrive in its habitat like it does.
The giant panda’s habitat has changed so much over time due to the expansion of humans, in turn taking a toll on the panda’s life and well-being. In the beginning, giant pandas lived across most of southern and eastern China in lowland areas (Craighead, lance 108). Slowly, humans moved in, removing countless forests for farming and other developments, and these poor creatures were disabled to live in their natural habitat. This forced them to retreat to the mountains, the only place where they could live, unbothered.
Around 1800, their range of habitat decreased so much that the giant panda species only occupied two mountain ranges. By 1900, this once large species only occupied the Quisling Mountains and the edge of the Tibetan plateau. Today about eighty percent of pandas live in the Sichuan Providence, divided among four mountain ranges. They can also be found in Shaanxi and Gansu Providences. Surprisingly, only thirty-five percent of pandas live in a protective reserve. During the summers, pandas spend their time over seven thousand feet high up in the mountains. They live in broadleaf and coniferous forests, where there is around thirty-three species of bamboo. Throughout the year, the pandas migrate up and down the mountains, in order to obtain the specific type of bamboo they want, per time of the year. Giant pandas thrive best in bamboo forests that are cool and wet.
These places are in remote mountainous areas in China. Pandas make their dens in hollowed-out logs or stumps, or conifer trees found within the forest. They mark their territory, which is on average about one point nine square miles. This way other pandas can identify an abundance of information about the panda, so they can determine whether to stay and fight it out or go elsewhere. Pandas are shy, antisocial creatures, so the marking of territory eliminates unwanted socializing and allows the creature to stay a safe distance away from the other. Since moving territories, the panda has new predators they will have to quarrel with in order to be able to eat. Instead, they learned to live off bamboo and other plants to be able to survive.
The giant pandas’ large diet relies mainly on plants for sustenance in order to survive, though they are considered carnivores. Their diet consists of ninety-nine percent of bamboo. Sometimes, they will eat other plants in order to replenish certain nutrients in their body. On a rare occasion, they will eat meat, like deer. Unfortunately, the giant panda has not developed an efficient means to digest the irresistible plant. They can only digest about seventeen percent of what they ingest. Their digestive system is like that of a carnivore, instead of like an herbivore. This means that they pass what they’ve eaten as waste. Their lack of sufficient digestion is why they need such large amounts of food. They need approximately twenty to forty pounds of bamboo daily to maintain health. They eat day and night, mainly at dawn and dusk, requiring a habitat plentiful with enough bamboo to sustain these immense needs. Giant pandas will sometimes feed on bulbs, herbs, and tree bark. They will also catch and eat reptiles, rodents, and large insects.
They acquire their water from bamboo shoots, digging a hole in the ground, or licking snow. Pandas like certain types of bamboo, and certain parts. They like arrow bamboo, black bamboo, water bamboo, along with several other types. Their favorite parts are the roots, shoots, and leaves. They prefer different parts of bamboo at different times of the year. In winter, they enjoy the roots the most. In spring and summer, they like specific types of shoots. In autumn, they prefer the leaves over anything else. They enjoy a wide variety of fruits as well, especially apples. In addition, they enjoy ‘panda cakes’ and cornbread.
During infancy, panda cubs nurse their mothers for the first nine months, when their eyes are still shut. As cubs mature, they slowly start adding bamboo in their diet between nursing, until they become completely dependent on bamboo. When pandas eat, they sit in an upright position, like how humans sit on the floor cross-legged. This position allows the paws of the panda to grasp onto the bamboo with their false thumbs and two fingers. They often spend ten to sixteen hours per day eating in order to obtain all the nutrients needed. For the giant panda, it is important to obtain all the nutrients needed to survive, especially during pregnancy. Mating season is an important factor in keeping this amazing species alive. During mating season, the vocalizations pandas use are anything from moans, to bleats, to barks. Female giant pandas use their scent to attract suitors, who may duel over the female. When males challenge the other over who gets the female, the female will often climb into the trees and watch the duel. Females may mate with several males, and males may as well mate with several females. Other times, the male will stick around through the pregnancy.
The mating season is typically from March to May, but if the female does not get impregnated, she may come into estrous again in September and October, or January and February. Giant pandas are pregnant for approximately 95-160 days after mating. Most newborns are born with their eyes shut and are considered the smallest offspring compared to the size of the parent, the giant panda. Once born, the female will usually stay in the den with the cubs, feeding and taking care of her babies. Females usually give birth to 2 cubs, but most of the time only one survives. After six to eight weeks, the baby pandas finally open their eyes. Once the cubs are born, the mother typically carries them around for five to the sixth month. Then, they nurse for eight to nine months, until they are weaned after a year.
Most females don’t get pregnant again until a year or two after birth. This implies that there is a short time of delayed implantation that can vary from one to four months. Giant pandas, in their lifetime, can only produce five to eight cubs. On average, they can produce young about every other year. Pandas can remain reproductive until about twenty years of age. They ovulate only once per year, typically in the spring. This lasts only two to three days. The birth of baby pandas has done a lot for our zoos, and our nation financially and emotionally. Giant pandas greatly aid the world, both economically and ecologically. Due to the horrendous event of the tragedy of 9/11, the turnout of the national zoos greatly decreased due to the widespread upset. When the baby panda was born, the attendance skyrocketed through the roof, allowing the zoos to stay alive and lighten the moods of thousands of people affected by this tragedy. Eighty percent of the visitors before 9/11 came back. It is also shown that when there is a new baby panda in a zoo, there is a temporary spike in ticket sales.
The wealth of money pandas have brought in has funded strengthened trade, education, cultural links, and expanding human rights. They have earned about two hundred and twenty million Euros for the economies. Two pandas alone, have brought in around twenty-eight million Euros in visitor spending over the course of ten years. Giant pandas’ also are important because they help the forests in many ways. They protect the forest and its many species and aid in the distribution of bamboo seeds. Pandas in the wild have also saved numerous mounts of endangered species by fending off any unwanted visitors who could harm themselves or the other creatures. Without this awe-inspiring creature, America and several other countries would be a lot more economically and ecologically unstable.
These specific characteristics and behaviors of a giant panda produce a bamboo lover. The giant panda has done the tough act of adapting to fit its needs in order to survive. They still manage to thrive although they have been cast out from their home and moved to the mountains. They also have completely switched over their diet, from meat to bamboo, in order to provide the nutrients necessary to stay alive. The pandas have also been able to successfully consistently produce young. They even have saved the economy and beloved zoos all while it has kept up the tough task of keeping the environment balanced and saved numerous species as well as their own. This beautiful animal is an invaluable creature that has greatly improved man’s way of life, and many don’t even realize it.
The Beautiful Giant Panda. (2021, Dec 05). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/the-beautiful-giant-panda/
