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The panda is a type of bear that is native to China. They are known for their distinctive black and white markings, as well as their gentle temperament. Pandas are a vulnerable species, with only around 1,800 left in the wild. They primarily eat bamboo, but will also consume other vegetation and small animals if necessary. Pandas are a popular animal in zoos around the world, and many conservation efforts are underway to protect them in the wild. There are two types of pandas: the giant panda and the red panda.
These paragraphs are on giant pandas, the most well-known panda. Giant pandas are in the family called Ursidae which includes all bear species
Giant pandas have black fur on their ears, eye patches, limbs, and shoulders. The rest is white. Its coat mainly serves as camouflage in winter and summer. In winter, the white parts are said to blend in with the snow while in summer, the black parts are used to blend in with the shade. The giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. It has five fingers and an opposable thumb that it uses to grasp bamboo. There is also a raresubspecies of panda called the Qinling panda which has brown patches and a smaller skull.
Giant pandas spend their lives mostly roaming and eating in the bamboo forests. They are generally solitary. They only come together to mate when a female raises her cubs. Pandas communicate through vocalization and scent marking. They can climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices but do not establish permanent dens which means they don’t hibernate. Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than aggression.
Giant pandas eat mostly bamboo. In fact, 99% of their diet is on bamboo. Although it mostly eats bamboo, it will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available.
Red pandas(Ailurus fulgens) are small mammals native to southwestern China and the eastern Himalayas. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle, and a ringed tail. It has been thought that it belonged with the giant panda but new evidence shows that it belong to its own family, Ailuridae. It is further divided into two subspecies: the Chinese red panda and the Himalayan red panda. The red panda is both nocturnal and crepuscular. It typically rests or sleeps in trees or other elevated spaces, stretched out prone on a branch with legs dangling when it is hot and curled up with its hindlimb over the face when it is cold. It is adapted for climbing and descends to the ground head-first with the hindfeet holding on to the middle of the tree trunk. It moves quickly on the ground by trotting or bounding. It’s largely herbivorous and feeds mostly on bamboo. Unlike giant pandas which eat the stem, red pandas eat the leaves. They will also eat fruit, blossoms, acorns, eggs, birds, and small mammals. It’s listed as Endnagered on the IUCN Red List.
Pandas are going extinct everywhere in China. As the human population grows, their habitats are destroyed to make room for buildings and farmland. Habitat loss is the main reason why pandas are going endangered. Many zoos around the world are trying to help save pandas by breeding them and releasing them back to China.