Giant Panda

       Giant Pandas live in south western China and central-western. The giant panda is loved all around the world by many people. Sadly, these animals are endangered. Countries are helping pandas by keeping them in captivity so they can be healthy, unharmed, and have a chance to reproduce without worry. The black and white animals are very important.
Even though pandas belong in the order Carnivora, 99% of their diet is bamboo. They eat small rodents every once in a while. Adults measure to be five feet long and two feet and six inches tall. Males weigh up to 330 pounds and females, who are 20% to 30% smaller, weigh up to 280 pounds. Pandas that live out of captivity are able to live to twenty years while in captivity pandas can live to thirty years.
After mating, the male leaves the female so she can care for their cub. Giant pandas have to consume twenty to thirty pounds of bamboo shoots a day to keep healthy. A panda’s binomial name is Ailurpoda Melanoleuca meaning “black and white cat-foot”. It is a strange meaning, but definitely describes a giant panda. The animals are a great symbol of China and are much appreciated. However, a 2007 report stated that 239 giant pandas were kept in captivity in China and 27 were outside of the country.
The dragon resembles China, but many coins, silvers, and gold have a panda imbedded in it so it has also become a national emblem. The panda’s genus is Ailurpoda and its part of the kingdom is Animalia. Giant pandas have to live by different species of bamboo they only eat a couple kinds of bamboo, though. Bamboo is a must in a panda’s body to keep them going through the day. In zoos, pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice, and other healthy snacks.
The panda is a much needed animal in China. It resembles China and brings many tourists a year. People love the company and how kind the giant pandas are. They are still endangered, but the whole world is helping to keep the pandas going in the world.
“Giant Panda”, http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/PandaFacts/default.cfm, national zoo,2011