Where Does the Animal Live

7/28/2019 Where Does the Animal Live

1/3

Ni Putu Anggie Michaelia

Where does the Panda live ?Pandas are commonly known as a black and white bear. There are

only three species of panda in the world. These are the Giant Panda (whichis the panda we are most familiar with), the Qinling Panda (which is a

subspecies of the Giant Panda and is dark brown and light brown in color)

and the Red Panda (which is a panda by name only and is not related to the

Giant Panda but is actually its own distinct species the Ailuridae family).

The Giant Panda and the Qinling Panda live in the country of

China. The Giant Panda inhabits the mountain ranges of the Sichuan,

Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. The Qinling Panda is only found in the

Qinling mountain range in the Chinese province of Shaanxi. Pandas use to

inhabit much more of China but due to rising populations and farming the

pandas now live exclusively in the mountainous regions. Some pandas

have been found as far as the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau. The

pandas live at high elevations of anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 feet.

Their habitat is bamboo, fir and spruce forests with heavy rains and dense mists for most or all of the year. Only

29 small areas of this type of forest exist from the pandas to live in.

The Red Panda is not actually a part of the same species as the giant panda and the Qinling

Panda but is a panda by name only. The Red Panda lives in the temperate rainforests of the Himalayas,

in Nepal, Bhutan, China, India and Myanmar.

How does the panda move around ?

Giant pandas are found mostly in thick bamboo

and coniferous forests(evergreens with seed cones) at

8,500 to 11,500 feet in elevation. They are generally

solitary animals that spend most of their days feeding.

However, they do communicate with each other once in a

while through scent markings, calls and occasional

meetings.

Unlike other bears, giant pandas do not

hibernate. In the winter, they move to lower elevations to

keep warm, while traveling to higher elevations in the summer to stay cool. They can be active at any time of

the day or night.

Pandas do not have permanent homes but sleep at the bottom of trees under stumps and rock

ledges.
http://www.defenders.org/forest/basic-factshttp://www.defenders.org/forest/basic-factshttp://www.defenders.org/forest/basic-facts


2/3

What does the panda eat ?

Giant Pandas are classified as carnivores;

however their diet is closer to that of herbivores. A

Carnivore is an animal that eats mostly meat. An

herbivore is an animal that eats mostly plants.

The Giant Pandas' diet consists almost entirely of

bamboo stalks, shoots and roots. They eat from 25 to 40

pounds per day. There are about 25 different types of

bamboo.

When available, Giant Pandas will eat fish,

flowers and small animals. In captivity they also receive

milk, eggs, ground meat and specially formulated vitamin bread. Apples and carrots are a favorite treat.

Since the Giant Pandas' digestive system is not very efficient, they must consume large quantities of

bamboo every day in order to obtain the nutrition they need. Cubs are especially prone to digestive problems.

Pandas eat for up to 14 hours a day. Their unique paws make it possible for them to hold the bamboo

and bite the stalks. They generally eat in a sitting position but also like to snack lying on their backs.

The puffy cheeks that make the Giant Pandas appear so adorable are actually powerful muscles that

enable the Giant Pandas to chew through even the toughest bamboo stalks.

Unlike other bears, the Giant Pandas do not store fat and therefore do not hibernate. Consequently, they

are constantly in search of food.

One problem for wild Giant Pandas is that the bamboo species flowers and dies. It then takes several

years for the bamboo to recover. In the past, Giant Pandas would migrate to other areas in search for new plants.Now, with their range fragmented, this is often difficult. Giant Pandas drink water from the rivers and

streams in their mountain environment.

How does the Panda look after and feed its young ?Panda mother will carry her cub around in her arms and

care for its every whim constantly. Panda cubs cry just like

human babies when they need feeding or need care from their

mother. They will cry for milk about every 2 hours or so.

Between feeding times, the mother panda will continuously

hold her cub very gently.

This attentive behaviour will continue until the cub isable to move around by itself when the cub is about 3 months old.

At this age, the cub will continue to follow its mother around and

by 6 months the cub can begin eating bamboo. They are finally

weaned off their mothers at around 9 months old. The weaning of

the cubs in the spring following their births is an ideal time as the newest most protein-filled bamboo shoots are

available. This gives cubs the best possible start in life on a diet that in the best of conditions is of poor

nutritional quality. At about a year old, the cubs can weigh 75 pounds, which is about a third of an adult pandas

weight.


3/3

What special features or habits does the panda have ?

Even in captivity where

there may be as many as 10-12 bears

occupying the same caged area,

rarely will you see them play with or

acknowledge each other. They will

find an unoccupied place in the areaand sit down, content to munch on

bamboo or other food items totally

oblivious of each other.

Who or what is a danger to the Panda ?Pandas are in danger because people are cutting down their forests where they live in and what they

eat. Human beings, because of habitat destruction and hunting.

Documents

Where Does the Animal Live