The Giant Panda is the mountain bear of Tibet.

The giant panda is a member of the Bear family. These funny bears will make you smile! In this article you will find a detailed description and photo of a giant panda, you can learn a lot of new and exciting things about the life of this rarest animal.

What does a panda look like?

Outwardly, the panda looks like a bear. But the main difference between a giant panda and a bear is its unusual coloration and the presence of a tail. The color of the panda is unique. The big panda has black ears, paws and shoulders, black spots near the eyes, while the rest of the fur is completely white. Therefore, the panda is also called the spotted bear.

The panda looks huge, has a massive body, thick fur, short wide paws with strong claws and a rather long tail. They have very adaptable paws for climbing trees.

The head of the panda is massive and with large ears. Pandas also have very powerful jaws with large teeth, which allows them to easily chew even the toughest plant stems. With all these combinations, the panda animal looks very cute and resembles a large teddy bear.

The body length of a panda can reach from 120 to 180 cm. The average length is 160 cm. The height at the withers varies between 65–85 cm. The tail length is 10–12 cm. The weight of adults varies from 70 to 125 kg, but can reach 150 kg. Males are predominantly larger than females.

The spotted panda bear has unusual front paws with six toes. This structure of the paws allows you to manage young and thin shoots of plants. The soles have pads that help hold the smooth stems of the trees.

Where does the giant panda live?

The giant panda lives in the mountainous regions of central China, the forests of Tibet and the province of Sichuan. This is the only place on the planet where pandas live in their natural environment. The panda lives in dense impenetrable bamboo forests, at an altitude of 1.5 to 4.5 km. This is the main habitat of the giant panda.

The natural conditions of the area where the giant panda lives have a pronounced change of seasons. But the panda’s dense fur protects it from extreme weather conditions. In severe weather, pandas sometimes hide in hollow trees, rock crevices and caves.

Bamboo thickets in which the giant panda lives reach a height of 3–4 meters and provide the spotted bear with reliable shelter and food.

The giant panda behavior

Pandas lead a very secretive lifestyle. They keep mostly alone, except for the breeding seasons and raising offspring. Each panda has its own territory and defends it.

Pandas are terrestrial animals but are also good climbers and swimmers. In cold weather, the panda is passive. Pandas do not hibernate in winter, unlike other bears.

In isolated cases, a panda bear can attack a person. Pandas are only aggressive if teased or if their offspring are in danger. Due to the panda’s increased discretion and secretive lifestyle, it is very rare for a person to encounter it in the wild.

For tree climbing, giant pandas have well-adapted paws to climb high in trees. Panda climbs a tree with different goals. To explore the surroundings, play, relax and lie on the branches.

The animal perfectly climbs trees and climbs even into the most inaccessible places. The panda looks clumsy, but it’s not. The joints of the animal are very flexible and allow you to perform various gymnastic tricks.

Pandas are usually silent animals, prefer silence and are very cautious. But they can make unusual sounds during the mating season and during social interactions. The life expectancy of a giant panda in nature is on average 16–20 years.

While eating, the panda holds the bamboo stalk in its paw using its sixth finger. In fact, this is an outgrowth on one of the bones of the paw. With it, pandas can hold objects in their paws, successfully climb trees, grab onto branches and perform other actions that are uncharacteristic of ordinary bears.

This adaptation of the paws makes it easy and dexterous to cope with flexible bamboo stems. While eating, pandas adopt an upright posture, while keeping their front paws free, which helps them better manage food.

This adaptation of the paws makes it easy and dexterous to cope with flexible bamboo stems. While eating, pandas adopt an upright posture, while keeping their front paws free, which helps them better manage food.

Pandas are carnivores, but they only eat bamboo. An adult panda eats up to 35 kg of bamboo and shoots per day. The panda’s esophagus and stomach are adapted to protect against bamboo chips.

Having eaten, pandas fall asleep, and wake up again hungry. Since the food is low-nutrient and monotonous, it is digested with difficulty. Therefore, pandas are forced to chew most of their wakefulness, and this is up to 14 hours a day.

Pandas conserve their energy reserves. In this regard, they travel little and only when nearby food resources are exhausted.

Pandas are also known to feed on eggs, small birds, animals, and some insects, despite the fact that pandas love bamboo. Animal food is a source of protein that pandas need.

Pandas also like to drink icy fresh water from mountain streams and rivers. Although giant pandas get most of their water from bamboo, they need more water. Therefore, the panda bamboo bear comes to his favorite springs every day.

Panda cub

For the birth of cubs, the female equips the den. Choosing for this high-mountain forests on steep slopes that provide shelter in the bamboo thickets. The breeding season of the giant panda first occurs at the age of 4 to 8 years. The mating season lasts from March to May, with females becoming more vocal but the rest of the time, pandas lead a solitary lifestyle.

A panda’s pregnancy lasts from 90 to 160 days, with an average of about 130 days. Childbirth takes place in a den and 1–2 cubs are born.

A panda cub weighs 100–130 g, with a body length of 15–17 cm. The body of a newborn cub is covered with a thin layer of fur, under which pink skin with black spots is visible.

Panda cubs are born blind and helpless. In a small and defenseless creature, it is difficult to recognize the future owner of bamboo forests. But panda bear cubs are growing fast. The eyes of panda cubs open at the age of 3 weeks. Breastfeeding continues for about 46 weeks.

Panda cubs make loud noises so that their mother hears them and does not crush them. Females often give birth to twins. But, unfortunately, the mother chooses to raise one, stronger baby. The second one dies unattended. Pandas breed once every 2 years. Therefore, the growth of the panda population is very slow.

Breeding pandas in captivity is extremely rare. But at the birth of 2 panda cubs in zoos, only one baby is left near the female. And the second one is taken away and replaced with the first one every few days. In such a cunning way, it is possible to feed both babies with nutritious mother’s milk.

The female panda devotes herself entirely to the little cub, surrounding him with warmth and care. The mother feeds the cub up to 14 times a day and nurses it, shaking it in large paws.

Mothers often play with their grown cubs. The cubs stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years.

The panda is considered a very rare animal and is listed in the Red Book with the status of “species in a vulnerable position.” Due to the small population and low birth rate, a little over 2 thousand individuals live in the wild today.

The giant panda is a symbol of China and is under state protection. Killing an animal in China is punishable by death.

For more interesting facts and funny animal moments, follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trszone.