PANDA BEARS Pravda Quinones Nissiya Adjei Lifesyle Panda

PANDA BEARS Pravda Quinones & Nissiya Adjei

Lifesyle Panda bears are very calm creatures and are diurnal. A wild panda spends much of its day resting, feeding, and seeking food. Because of their low-energy diet they avoid stressful situations and exertion, preferring shallow slopes and solitary living. Unlike other bears from temperate climates, giant pandas do not hibernate.

Environment Pandas live mainly in bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China. Most of the wild population being distributed between the Qinling and Minshan Mountains.

Vegetation The giant panda has a relatively large head and large muscular jaws, while its molars and premolar teeth are wider and flatter than those of other bears, allowing it to grind bamboo. This species also has a ‘thumb’, which is a modified wrist bone that enables the giant panda to grasp bamboo stalks.

Physical � Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into their shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.

Social � Adult giant pandas are generally solitary, but they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. March through May is when males and females begin to mate

Reproduction Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other. Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Females reproduce every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs.

Threats The giant panda receives the highest level of protection under China’s Wildlife Protection Law. Habitat loss is the greatest cause of the decline of the giant panda. Large areas of China’s natural forest have been cleared for agriculture, timber and firewood, to meet the needs of the large and growing human population. The giant panda’s dependence on bamboo makes it particularly vulnerable to the effects of habitat loss. Previously, the giant panda would migrate to find alternative bamboo sources, but the extent of habitat loss means that this is no longer possible, making panda populations even more vulnerable.

Mutualistic Relationship � The giant panda has a mutualistic relationship with the bacteria in its stomach. The bacteria helps break down nutrients and vitamins that helps shape their immune system.

Parasitic Relationship � The giant panda has a parasitic relationship with Baylisascaris schroederi a roundworm that has been responsible for 50% of all giant panda deaths. The worm affects the livers, lungs, hearts and brains of the animals that died. The parasite is spread when pandas walk throug droppings with roundworm eggs and when they lick their paws after touching infected materials