Panda Facts
A Beginner’s Guide to Panda Facts
Even those of us in the United States should know basic panda facts that could possibly ensure this endangered species’ survival. It should be hoped that joining in the support for creating knowledge of this creature’s plight would help to save one of the most recognized yet rarest animals on earth.
China is well known for the habitation of the panda. While there are actually several varieties of the panda, facts are that all of them are on the endangered list. The most threatened is the Giant Panda, of which only about 1,000 remain in the wild. The main reason for the dwindling numbers is the destruction of the habitat of the panda, and the main culprit is humans.
The panda’s history has been traced back around 3 million years, with fossils found in Beijing, North Vietnam and both South and East China. Their preferred habitat has long been the high mountainous areas, where evergreens and bamboo were abundant. Because bamboo makes up between 90 and 95% of the diet of the panda, facts of its slow growth have been attributed to part of the reason the panda is becoming rarer to find in the wild. It can take up to 20 years for a single bamboo patch to regenerate. When a patch of bamboo is in the flowering stage, the panda must move on to another area. With the deforestation that has taken place over the years, there are fewer and fewer areas to move on to.
One of the most interesting panda facts is that scientists cannot come to a decision as to whether the panda is more closely related to the raccoon or to the bear. Each of these, along with dogs, evolved from the same common ancestor millions of years ago. A few of the panda’s features and characteristics mimic those of bears, but others are uniquely their own. For example, pandas do not hibernate. They also do not use their hind legs to walk, as bears do. The panda and the raccoon share similarities in the genitalia, but little else. Despite the differences, in relation to the closest family of the panda, facts proven in a recent DNA study found that the panda is more closely related to the bear.
Another feature that has many scientists scratching their heads in bemusement must be one of the most unusual panda facts. Pandas have the same digestive system as a carnivore, or meat eater, would have, yet are fully vegetarians. The only theory that has been presented is that at one time pandas were carnivorous, but were not able to compete with other carnivores for the available food and opted to become vegetarian. Their diets consist of about 90% bamboo, with a few other grasses thrown in.
The panda, facts show, is the most recognizable bear on earth; its cuddly appearance gaining great appeal to the majority of the human population. However, those same humans are the only ones capable of saving the panda from extinction through stringent conservation of its habitat. If not, one day the world will only know this beautiful creature through pictures.