Giant Pandas Jenny Rizzo What do you know

Giant Pandas! Jenny Rizzo

What do you know about panda bears?

Giant Panda

Red tailed panda (Red panda)

Anatomy of a panda

Anatomy of a panda

Anatomy of a panda

Anatomy of a panda

Habitat �Pandas can be found in any of the 62 nature reserves set up for them in the mountains of the Sichuan province of south west China �Snows frequently �Altitudes ranging from 5000 -13, 000 feet � This steep terrain is a defense advantage for pandas

Habitat

What do pandas eat? � Shoots and leaves of 26 different species of bamboo � Because pandas lack the special stomach of other large grass eating animals, they have to eat MUCH more. �Pandas feed for approximatley 14 hours a day! � Pandas bodies are better suited to a carnivorous diet �They eat bamboo rats in the wild if they can catch one. � In captivity pandas are given various other foods such as panda cakes: a nutritional mixture of grain and egg

Diet

Diet

Diet

Diet

Breeding �Mating season is April through May �A female panda can only become pregnant 72 hours out of the year! �A female panda signals reproductive readiness by rubbing her butt against a tree, secreting a musky scent �A panda can be pregnant from anywhere between 90 to 160 days until she gives birth in a thicket, cave, or tree hollow

Breeding �When in the wild, if twins are born, the smaller of the two is left to die �In captivity both are raised, they are just switched out so the mother thinks she has just one baby �Baby pandas stay with their mothers until they are about 2 years old �Pandas reach sexual maturity at 5 to 7 years �Pandas typically live to be 25 -30 years old.

Breeding �Pandas typically do not enjoy breeding �In captivity pandas are often shown videos of other pandas mating in order to speed along the process �Artificial insemination has proven to be the most successful way to breed pandas in captivity � Zoos have begun to freeze sperm and create sperm banks

Cub survival � Cubs are no longer than a stick of butter when born � They have a long tail that shrinks as they grow � Born completely hairless � Cannot open eyes for approximately 4 to 5 weeks � Because baby pandas are so small their mothers some times roll over on them causing their death � When a mother panda is giving birth she must catch her baby, cupping it in her feet. � If she fails to do so sometimes the baby hits a tree and dies � Otherwise, mother pandas are incredibly protective of their cubs!

Cub Survival

Pandas in the states! �There are pandas in the Smithsonian National (Washington D. C. ), Atlanta, Memphis, and San Diego zoos. �Bai Yun of the San Diego zoo just gave birth to a cub this past Autumn! �$50 thousand a year to rent 1 panda to be put in a zoo breeding program. �Pandas must be rented in pairs �Each panda born outside of China may live in the other country for up to four years, and then will most likely be transported back to a CRCGP in China

Why are pandas endangered? �There are only 1, 600 pandas in the wild! �It is difficult for pandas to reproduce. �Pandas suffered from being poached in decades past � This does not happen anymore �Their habitat is being destroyed!

Why should we help pandas? �They are a marvel of the natural world having lived in the bamboo forests of China for several million years, they are often referred to as living fossils. �Because they have lived in the same habitat for so many years they have developed unique adaptations and are highly specialized animals. �We must preserve pandas because they are a living piece of the Earth’s past. � There is no limit to what we can learn from such an ancient species!

Conservation �The area of the Tibetan Plateau that pandas live in contains more plant an animal species than any other temperate region in the world. If we conserve this land for pandas, we are also conserving many other species!

Crescent moon bears

Takin Bull

Darjeeling Woodpecker

Dhole

Golden Monkey

Tragopan

How can you help? �Do not use bamboo products!

How can you help? �Donate to the World Wildlife Fund or Pennies 4 Pandas! �Set up money collections, bake sales, or movie screening of panda movies to donate to their cause as well as raise awareness! �Celebrate Panda Awareness Week � July 1 -7

Thanks!