March 16th is National Panda Day ; March 23rd is World Bar Day
Here are some things about these iconic creature you might not know……
The giant panda’s distinct black-and-white markings have two functions: camouflage and communication. Most of the panda – its face, neck, belly, rump – is white to help it hide in snowy habitats.
Like domestic cats, giant panda bears have vertical slits for pupils.
Cubs are very well protected in their first month – Mother pandas keep contact with their cub nearly 100% of the time during their first month – with the cub resting on her front and remaining covered by her paw, arm or head.
Giant pandas are good swimmers and excellent tree climbers. At 5 months old, giant panda cubs learn how to climb – sometimes practising by climbing on their mum.
Giant pandas spend 10-16 hours a day feeding, mainly on bamboo.
Pandas need at least 2 different bamboo species in their range to avoid starvation
A panda’s diet is 99% vegetarian, which mostly includes bamboo roots, stems, shoots and leaves. However their digestive system is typical of a carnivore, so the remaining 1% of their diet can include eggs, small animals and carrion. Pandas are also known to forage in farmland for pumpkin, kidney beans, wheat and domestic pig food.
Sometimes, to mark their scent, panda’s climb a tree backwards with their hindfeet until they’re in a full handstand upside down – enabling them to leave their scent higher up.
On average, pandas poo 40 times a day.
with thanks to https://www.wwf.org.uk ; picture from Pinterest
