CARING FOR PANDAS

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

so cute pandas

PANDA

Posted by Tammy at 8:21 AM

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Giant pandas may live to be up to 30 years old in captivity. After the age of six, female giant pandas begin to have cubs. Female pandas give birth to one or two cubs every two years. A cub nurses for about four months and then begins to nibble on bamboo. By the age of six months, it no longer nurses.

Pandas Giant pandas are black-and-white Chinese bears that are on the verge of extinction. These large, cuddly-looking mammals have a big head, a heavy body, rounded ears, and a short tail. The Chinese people call the panda "Da xiong mao," which means "giant bear cat" in Chinese. The panda is a symbol of peace in China. This bear is quite different from other bears. It has unusual cat-like eyes, and its front paws have an opposable "thumb." Female pandas are called sows, males are called boars, and the young are called cubs. EYES Most bears' eyes have round pupils. The exception is the giant panda, whose pupils are vertical slits, like cats' eyes. These unusual eyes inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "giant cat bear." Pandas have very good eyesight. COLOR Giant pandas are white with black patches around the eyes, ears, shoulders, chest, legs, and feet. This black-and-white coloring may camouflage (hide) the panda in the snowy, rocky environment. SIZE The largest pandas grow to be about 250 pounds (115 kg), about the weight of a large adult human. They are about 5.25 to 6 feet (1.6 to 1.8 m) long. The average adult male panda grows to be about 3 feet (1 m) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 220 pounds (100 kg). The average adult female panda grows to be about 2.5 feet (80 cm) tall at the shoulder and weighs about 180 pounds (80 kg). The panda's tail is about 6 inches (16 cm) long. Adult Giant Panda Weight Height (at shoulder) Length (snout to tail) Female 180 pounds (80 kg) 2.5 feet (80 cm) 5.25 feet (1.8 m) Male 220 pounds (100 kg) 3 feet (1 m) 6 feet (1.8 m) DIET Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears. Their diet is almost exclusively two species of bamboo (arrow and umbrella bamboo). Pandas eat about 40 pounds (18 kg) of food each day. Bamboo is very low in nutrition. Even though the panda eats this plant, it cannot digest it very well and most of the bamboo passes undigested through the digestive tract. It has to eat for up to 12 hours every day in order to get enough nourishment. Its throat and stomach have extra-tough linings to protect them from the tough food. Other problems with a bamboo diet: These bamboo plants only grow in a few places. This limits the range of pandas tremendously. Bamboo species go through periodic die-offs after they flower. Most plants in an area die-off at the same time (after flowering). When this happened in the past, pandas would migrate to another area where the bamboo was still flourishing. With the greatly reduced bamboo forests of today, this option is not always available. This leads to periodic starvations among giant panda populations. In captivity (zoos and breeding centers), pandas eat bamboo, rice cereal, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes. EATING Pandas usually eat while sitting in an upright position. Sitting this way, they can use their front paws to hold their food. PANDAS' PAWS Panda front paws are very unusual. These paws have five clawed fingers plus an extra bone that works like an opposable thumb. This "thumb" is not really a finger (like our thumb is). It is really an extra-long wrist bone that works like a thumb. The panda uses these dextrous paws to grasp its food (bamboo shoots and leaves). TEETH Since pandas spend most of their time eating tough, nutrition-poor bamboo, strong teeth and jaws are very important to a panda's survival. Giant pandas have large molars (flat teeth used for crushing food). They also have a few sharp teeth which they use to bite tough bamboo stalks. Pandas have 42 teeth. They also have strong jaw muscles which they use for chewing tough bamboo. FUR Pandas have very thick, oily, woolly fur that keeps them warm in their cold, wet mountain habitat. Their fur is made of two types of hairs; there are long, thick, coarse hairs and a shorter, fine, dense underfur. This fur is waterproof. DISTRIBUTION In the wild, giant pandas only live in a few mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Because of habitat destruction, the pandas now live in a series of broken ranges. This has created six isolated populations that do not interbreed. HABITAT The natural habitat of the giant panda is cool, wet, cloudy mountain forest land where bamboo grows. Giant pandas are found in mixed deciduous/evergreen temperate forests, between 3,000 and 10,500 feet (900-3,200 m) in altitude (below the timberline). Pandas used to also live at lower altitudes, but farming and land development have pushed the pandas high into the mountains. NUMBERS Giant pandas are an endangered species and their numbers are dwindling very quickly as their habitat is destroyed. There are roughly 1,000-1,500 pandas living in the wild (in China). There are about 120 living in zoos and breeding centers around the world. This species is extremely vulnerable to extinction because of humans. SOCIAL BEHAVIOR Giant pandas are mostly shy, solitary animals. They live most of their lives alone. A small group of pandas may share a large feeding territory, usually only meeting to breed. Scientists don't know very much about the lives of these animals. VOCALIZING Giant panda bears are mostly silent, but they can bleat! They don't roar like other bears, but they do have 11 different calls, four of which are only used during mating. LIFE SPAN The giant panda's life span in the wild has not been accurately documented, but Chinese scientists report that some pandas in zoos have lived to be 35 years old. Hsing-Hsing, who lives in the National Zoo, turned 29 in 1999. Most animals live longer in captivity than in the wild. LOCOMOTION Giant pandas have a rolling gait. Like people and other bears, giant pandas are flat-footed (plantigrade - that is, both heel and toe touch the ground when walking). Pandas are good tree climbers, using their short claws to grab onto the bark. Sometimes they take afternoon naps high in the trees. Unlike many other bears, pandas cannot walk on their hind legs. HIBERNATION Giant pandas do not hibernate since their food is available all year long. Also, the bamboo they eat is not high enough in nourishment to fatten them up for the winter. During the cold winter months, giant pandas go to lower altitudes where it is a bit warmer; they also take shelter in hollow trees or dens. They don't seem to have permanent dens. REPRODUCTION Pandas have a very slow reproductive rate which contributes to their declining numbers. Male and female giant pandas mate in the spring, attracting each other with calls and odors. Females give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. They have their cubs in dens that they dig in the ground. One or two cubs are born but usually only one survives. BABY PANDAS Panda cubs are small, white, blind, furless, and helpless at birth. Except for marsupials (kangaroos, opossums, etc.), giant panda cubs are the smallest newborn mammals. They weigh four to six ounces (85-140 g) as newborns. This is lighter than an apple. Like newborn human babies, panda cubs cry when they are hungry or need care from their mother. Their coats take on adult coloring about a month after birth. Cubs' eyes open at six to seven weeks. They will follow their mother at about three months after birth. They start eating bamboo at about 6 months old and are weaned from their mother at about 9 months. Panda cubs grow very slowly. They stay with their mother for one to two years. They are fully grown in 2-4 years. PREDATORS OF PANDAS Humans are the giant panda's greatest enemy. Poachers still hunt giant pandas for their pelts, which they sell. Also, leopards sometimes kill cubs. THE EVOLUTION OF PANDAS The giant panda seems to have evolved during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene, roughly two to three million years ago. During those times, the giant panda's range extended throughout southern China. Panda fossils have been found in eastern China (as far north as Beijing) , Burma, and Vietnam. CLASSIFICATION The giant panda is considered a true bear (before recent genetic studies, it was thought to be a member of the raccoon family). It belongs to the: Kingdom Animalia (the animals) Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones) Class Mammalia (warm-blooded animals with hair and mammary glands) Order Carnivora Family Ursidae (Bears) Genus and Species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning "cat feet black white"

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If Su Lin the giant panda had thrown herself a one-year-old birthday party, she’d have had a lot of panda friends to play with. That’s because she is one of 19 captive pandas to turn a year old in 2006. Su Lin lives in the San Diego Zoo in California. At birth she was about the size and weight of a stick of butter. She now weighs 75 pounds (34 kilograms). Su Lin is the third giant panda cub ever born at the California zoo. All the cubs born in the 2005 panda baby boom give hope for the future of this critically endangered species. Pandas at Risk Scientists estimate that fewer than 2,000 giant pandas live in the mountains of central China. About another 200 giant pandas live in zoos and breeding stations, mostly in China. Giant pandas are among the most rare of the world’s living mammals. Raising Babies “Every newborn panda is important,” says Don Lindburg, leader of the giant panda research team at the San Diego Zoo. “After they have grown to adulthood, some of the captive-born bears could be released into the mountainous wilds,” he says. Those that mate and give birth to more cubs will help rebuild China’s perilously small population of wild pandas. “Breeding giant pandas is no easy feat,” says Lindburg. Female giant pandas can produce cubs only once every two years. In the wild, an adult female may successfully raise five to eight cubs in her lifetime. By studying pandas in captivity, Lindburg and other scientists are discovering ways to improve the odds for the precious young pandas’ survival. Giant pandas once wandered freely across China to its eastern coast and from the country's mountaintops to the food-rich valleys below. But as more people made their homes in the valleys and began to farm the land, the naturally shy pandas lost a lot of their habitat and most of their food—the fresh stems, shoots, and leaves of wild bamboo plants. Hope for the Future Today conservation groups, scientists, zoo workers, and the Chinese government work to safeguard what remains of the pandas’ habitat. Many think that creating bamboo corridors—strips of undisturbed land through which pandas can comfortably wander and feed—are one hope for saving the giant panda from extinction. These corridors would connect all of today’s smaller panda reserves to create one larger habitat for all wild pandas. Dedicated people work toward the day when more of Su Lin’s wild relatives can roam throughout China’s forest reserves. Fast Facts About 200 giant pandas live in captivity worldwide. In keeping with tradition, the cub is named 100 days after its birth.

wolong nature reserve

Go Glossopedia Wolong Nature Reserve A Safe Place in the Mountains The Wolong Nature Reserve is located high in the mountains of western China's Sichuan Province. It was set up in 1963. Wolong is home to over 6,000 species of plants and animals. It is one of the last protected homes of the giant panda, red panda, takin, and golden snub-nose monkey. Wolong contains lush deciduous and evergreen temperate forests and high, ice-covered mountains. Wolong is a UNESCO “Man & Biosphere” protected area. The Wolong Nature Reserve has four general regions: Mountain slopes covered in deciduous and coniferous forests as well as bamboo groves River valleys, where most of the people live and farm High alpine slopes above the tree line where wildflowers grow and yaks live 20 glacier-covered mountain peaks over 4,000 m above sea level The Wolong Nature Reserve covers 1,999km2 and includes coniferous and deciduous forest, river valleys, alpine slopes, and high glacier-covered mountain peaks. The Wolong Nature Reserve covers 1,999km2 and includes coniferous and deciduous forest, river valleys, alpine slopes, and high glacier-covered mountain peaks. ©K.Feng/GLOBIO.org The Legend of Wolong Wo Long means “sleeping dragon.” The people of Wolong built a long dragon wall to represent their legend about a dragon who fell asleep in Wolong and never woke up. Wo Long means “sleeping dragon.” The people of Wolong built a long dragon wall to represent their legend about a dragon who fell asleep in Wolong and never woke up. ©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Wo Long means “sleeping dragon” and is a description of the mountainous peaks surrounding the Pitiao River valley. These mountains run through the center of the Wolong Nature Reserve. The local Qiang people believe a giant dragon came wandering through the valley and fell in love with the beauty of the mountains and trees. The dragon decided to go to sleep and then never woke up. The People of Wolong Four ethnic groups of people live in and around Wolong Nature Reserve: Qiang, Tibetans, Han Chinese, and Hui. The Qiang The Qiang people are the main ethnic group living in the Reserve. They have lived in the region for several thousand years. They live in the main Pitiao River valley that runs from northeast to southwest through Wolong. Older people still wear traditional clothing of blue and white cloth, goatskin vests, and cloth head wrappings. The Qiang are famous for their embroidered cloth belts and crafts. Most Qiang are farmers. Some raise honeybees. Others run small shops and restaurants in the reserve’s two main villages, Geng Da and Wo Long. The Qiang people are the main ethnic group living in Wolong. They are well known for their embroidery and crafts. They sell their brightly colored, embroidered belts in local markets. The Qiang people are the main ethnic group living in Wolong. They are well known for their embroidery and crafts. They sell their brightly colored, embroidered belts in local markets. ©K.Feng/GLOBIO.org The Qiang travel into the high mountains during the summer months. They bring their beehives so the honeybees can collect pollen from summer flowers. In these high mountains, they meet many Tibetans who still herd their yaks in the summer pastures. A Very Diverse Place Wolong is a beautiful place full of rare mammals, beautiful birds, insects, and plants found nowhere else in the world. Wolong Nature Reserve covers an area of 1,999 km2 and contains 17% of the biodiversity found in China. This means it is an extremely important place to protect. Since 1963, the Wolong Nature Reserve has been protected by law. Hunting and logging are not allowed. Collecting plants in the forest is controlled and regulated. Tibetan people who live in Wolong graze their yaks in alpine meadows during the summer months. Tibetan people who live in Wolong graze their yaks in alpine meadows during the summer months. ©K.Feng/GLOBIO.org A Protected Place for Endangered Species Rare wildlife and plants live in Wolong Nature Reserve. In addition to the giant panda, other endangered species like the snow leopard, red panda, golden snub-nose monkey, Asiatic black bear, and dove tree survive in Wolong. Wolong is home to over 6,000 species (4,000 plants, 450 vertebrates, and 1,700 invertebrates). Other species such as yaks and goats are herded by local Tibetan people in Wolong’s high mountains. The Four Seasons Wolong has four distinct seasons. In the spring, from April to June, the steep mountain slopes are covered with the bright purple and pink blossoms of rhododendron trees. Summer lasts from June to September. It is warm and humid in the valleys and clear in the high mountains. Occasionally, sudden summer snowstorms occur in the mountains. Fall begins in October, when leaves begin turning red, yellow, and orange. Visitors come from all over the world to see the beautiful scenery. Few people visit Wolong in the winter when it is cold and wet. Snow falls in the mountains, but often it only rains in the valleys. Wolong receives over 170 cm of precipitation each year. Working to Help Animals Wolong is most famous for its giant pandas. To help pandas survive, the Chinese government and other concerned groups built a special breeding center inside the Wolong Nature Reserve. The center is called the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. The Center cares for several red pandas and over 50 captive giant pandas. Many were rescued after an injury or illness. Each year new giant panda babies are born to female pandas at the center. Scientists study the captive pandas to learn more about how wild panda mothers raise their babies. The scientists hope this information will help save pandas from extinction. The Center is the most successful facility in the world for breeding giant pandas. Most of the giant pandas in zoos around the world come from Wolong. Working to Help the Environment The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is the most successful center for breeding and caring for endangered giant pandas. The keepers and staff members at the Center take good care of the baby pandas. They care for them from birth until they are old enough to be on their own. The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda is the most successful center for breeding and caring for endangered giant pandas. The keepers and staff members at the Center take good care of the baby pandas. They care for them from birth until they are old enough to be on their own. ©K.Feng/GLOBIO.org The Conservation Center also conducts important research on the surrounding environment. Scientists believe it is important to understand the whole environment and all its species. For example, scientists study the bamboo groves around Wolong. Bamboo is the favorite food of both the giant panda and red panda. By looking at “the big picture,” scientists can make better decisions about how to save the giant panda and other endangered plants and animals.

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Any human mother of multiples knows it's hard to raise two or more children of the same age at the same time. And it's true for other mammals, too. "Nearly half of all giant panda births in zoos and research stations result in twins," Don Lindburg says. Lindburg is the leader of the giant panda research team at the San Diego Zoo. "Taking care of tiny infants is an awesome chore, and mother pandas usually can't handle two," Lindburg says. "Every newborn panda is important," says Lindburg "After giant pandas have grown to adulthood, some of the captive-born bears could be released into the mountainous wilds," he says. Those that mate and give birth to more cubs will help rebuild China's perilously small population of wild pandas. At China's Wolong facility, caregivers are helping make the mother's situation more "bear-able." They gently remove one of the twins, keeping it warm and well fed for a week before trading it for the cub's brother or sister. The cubs continue to be swapped for months, until they can eat solid foods and no longer need to nurse. Bamboo, apples, carrots, and biscuits are added to the diet of mother's milk when the cubs are about seven months old. By adulthood, the pandas will eat fresh stems, shoots, and leaves of wild bamboo plants. Fast Facts In five years female cubs will be mature enough to give birth to cubs of her own. Sixteen pandas were born in Wolong Nature Reserve in 2005.

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

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wolong nature reserve

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