The Panda Bear Report

Presented by Raghad Fathi Sweileh Table of Contents INTRODUCTION PHYSICAL APPEARANCE HABITAT FOOD REPRODUCTION BEHAVIOUR WHY IT IS ENDANGERED CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION The panda bear is one of the most endangered animals with only 800 to 1000 left in the world and is on the verge of extinction. Giant pandas are popular animals that most people have only ever seen on television and in pictures. But teams have been set up around the forests in China to help save the panda.

This report will tell you facts about the panda and why it is endangered. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The physical appearance of the panda is very unique. The panda bear is black and white it has black feet, eye patches, ears, legs, chest and shoulders. Pandas also have massive heads , short snout and short tails. Adult pandas range from about 5 to 6 feet tall.

The adult male panda weighs about 276 pounds. The adult female panda weighs only 155 to 220 pounds. The black and white of the panda helps it blend. It could not be seen at a range of 30 feet. Pandas have plantigrade feet, that is, both heel and toes make contact with the ground when walking, in a manner similar to humans. HABITAT

The panda shares its habitat with many other animals but has few enemies.

They live in southeastern China. They live in misty cool forests on the side of mountainous slopes. There are many bamboo trees for pandas eat a lot. FOOD The panda eats food for about 10 to 12 hours a day. It eats about 40 to 80 pounds.

Pandas must eat great amounts of bamboo every day in order to get enough nutrition to survive. A panda’s diet consists of 99% bamboo but occasionally pandas eat meat or other plants, they may eat honey as well as the bees. They have a tough lining so bee stings do not hurt them.

The pandas eat in a sitting position. Since the panda does not hibernate it does not have to store food.

REPRODUCTION Panda’s reproduction rates are really low because the female panda does not mature until 5 to 7 years old. Pandas breeding season takes place from March to May, then the baby pandas are born three to six months later, weighing only eighty-five to one hundred forty grams. The female panda gives birth once a year to one or two cubs. Two cubs may be born from one mother at the same time, but only one will survive. The reason for this is because one baby panda alone requires a lot of care.

Baby pandas grow in the first four to five years and usually stay with their mother for more than a year.

They are blind when first born, but their eyes open after three weeks to a month. The mother panda usually spends about 12 hours per day feeding, staying with the cub 10 days without feeding herself. Panda cubs are extremely vulnerable while the mother is away feeding on bamboo. BEHAVIOUR The panda bear communicates by chirping, barking, squealing and yipping. The panda spends about half it’s time eating and half it’s time sleeping.

Pandas are very intelligent animals they are good at solving problems.

They spend most of their time by themselves. Most avoid direct contact with others of their own kind. At a stage in their life, pandas are forced to spend time with each other. In the spring, males and females must find each other in order to mate.

In autumn, the females give birth to one cub which will live with her for the next 18 months or more. WHY IT IS ENDANGERED Pandas are dying out mainly because of one main reason: habitat loss. Their main source of food is bamboo, which takes a long time to grow. This problem wasn’t present when pandas were spread throughout the massive south-east of Asia, including China.

Hence, when a forest of bamboo was being consumed by them, or a forest bloomed out, they could simply move to another bamboo forest, but as the forests have been cut down the Pandas are finding food supply harder to find.

Industrialization needs people to clear off these ranges or lands for factories and agriculture. Hence, bamboo forests in Asia started to decline tremendously. Wild pandas have been reported to die because of starvation simply because they cannot reach the next bamboo forest quickly enough, or at all. Habitat fragmentation affects their feeding, and mating as well.

Anytime the pandas have to leave their territory, they are at risk.

Another reason why pandas are dying out is that they are picky regarding their mates. But an even larger problem than the panda’s selective behavior is, females are only fertile, or in their reproductive cycle for about 5 days. For a male to find a female in the wild, and quickly enough to mate with her while she is still fertile, is a small miracle. The odds are against it happening, there are a lot fewer pandas surviving in the wild, and the habitat is filled with fences, walls, roads, and other obstacles.

A third reason why pandas are endangered is that they are getting hunted by people who are killing off these animals without knowing that they are endangered and have no concerns, or cares about the balance and well-being of the ecosystem.

In southwest China the panda is hunted for its fur and especially for its highly-valued bushy tail from which hats are produced. In the areas of China, where the panda lives, their fur is often used for local cultural ceremonies and in weddings. Fourth, pandas have their own food specialization needs.

The panda is a specialized species and that makes it sensitive to any outside pressures and can quickly endanger the species continued survival. The panda’s requirements are very restrictive, for example their diet; they really only eat bamboo, and in such quantities that it requires large bamboo forests, with dense undergrowth to support them.

They can now only be found in south-china. Pandas need to be watched or monitored closely when they come into contact with humans, or during any weather events that can cause serious damage to their habitat.

Finally pandas have a naturally low birth rate (usually single or twin births per year) and a high death rate in the wild. Natural population subdivision by topography and ecology has been worsened by human encroachment, leading to severe fragmentation of the remaining wild population. For example, 40 animals in 4 groups share resources of a preserve in Nepal with 30,000 humans (only 6% of its 1710 km? is preferred panda habitat). Small groups of animals, with little opportunity for exchange between them, face the risk of inbreeding, decreased genetic diversity, and even extinction.

CONCLUSION

Pandas are rare today and are in danger of extinction due to the disappearance of the forests and hunting for their highly-valued tails and fur. However they are protected by law in China. In 1963, the first panda was exhibited in a zoo outside of China. Today, there are more than a dozen pandas in most zoos. Pandas can be seen in zoos in Washington D.

C, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Madrid, Paris, and Berlin. All pandas in zoos are given double names; this is a Chinese custom, which indicates affection. Scientists study the zoo pandas in hope to learn how to save wild pandas from extinction. Now you know information about the panda and why it is endangered. I think that the panda should be saved or these beautiful animals will become extinct.

References http://wiki.

answers. com/Q/Why_is_the_panda_an_endangered_species http://www. worldwildlife. org/species/finder/giantpanda/panda. html http://en.

wikipedia. org/wiki/Giant_panda http://www. ehow. com/facts_5176027_pandas-endangered-animals_. html http://www. tenan.

vuurwerk. nl/reports/baturyn/panda-brad. htm http://www. Google. ae/images? um=1;hl=ar;tbs=isch%3A1;sa=1;q=Panda;aq=f;aqi=g10;aql=;oq=;gs_rfai=;start=0 ———————– A Report on THE PANDA