Panda brief information. Big panda from the Red Book: photo, description What animal is called a bamboo bear
The giant panda's habitat includes the mountainous regions of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau, West Side central China and southwest China. The giant panda lives mainly in the Sichuan province. There are also small populations of this animal in the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu. Prior to the start of active development of land for the needs Agriculture and deforestation, the giant panda lived in many low-lying areas of China's interior.
Giant pandas live in mountainous areas covered with bamboo forests where it often rains. The height of these places is from 1200 to 3100 meters above sea level. For one adult pair of pandas, about 3 thousand hectares of bamboo forest are needed for a normal existence.
The giant panda's habitat has been significantly reduced due to the expansion of land converted to farmland and deforestation. Deforestation stopped after a law was passed by the Chinese government in 1998. Currently, there are 50 reserves operating in China to protect the remaining giant panda population, with a total area of more than 1 million hectares. The deterioration of the panda's habitat is also affected by the division of areas of its habitat due to economic activity person. Pandas run out of food if bamboo is on it separate territory did not grow well enough in a certain year.
Protecting the giant panda's habitat indirectly helps protect entire ecosystems from destruction. In particular, thanks to measures to protect the range of the panda, the quality of water is improving in the area of \u200b\u200bthe source of China's largest and most important river, the Yangtze. Ecotourism in these protected areas provides additional income for people living in these poor mountainous areas. Tourists, in turn, have the opportunity to see wild pandas in their natural environment habitat. This strictly controlled type of tourism has a minimal impact on the environment.
In Chengdu, there are many opportunities to buy something original: Chinese or Tibetan style souvenirs, brocade or embroidery, antiques or works of art. The giant panda is increasingly used as a symbol of China. This very cute and cute animal is not found in conditions wildlife nowhere else in the world. Most the best place in the world in order to observe the giant panda - the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu City.
Conservation status: Endangered species.
Listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The giant panda is a quiet creature in a distinctive black and white costume, widely adored around the world. The panda is also considered national treasure in China. For WWF (World Wildlife Fund) the panda has special meaning, since since 1961, the moment the organization was founded, it has been depicted on their logo.
The giant panda is considered a rare animal in China, and its population is limited to the provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, Shanxi in the central part of the country. The total range covers 29.5 thousand km², but only 5.9 thousand km² is the range of the giant panda.
Habitat
The giant panda lives in mixed coniferous, mountain and deciduous forests where bamboo is present.
Description
In general, giant pandas have a round head, a stocky body, and a short tail. The height at the shoulders is 65-70 cm. These animals are well known for their characteristic black and white markings. The limbs, eyes, ears and shoulders are black in color, while the rest is white. In some regions, black actually has a deep red tint. The dark markings around the eyes may be the reason for the popularity of these animals, giving them a naive, juvenile appearance. The enlarged shoulders and neck area along with the reduced hindquarters create an amble. The baculum (the bone that formed in the connective tissue of the penis) is present in many other mammals. However, in other bears they are straight and forward, while in pandas they are S-shaped and point backward.
Giant pandas have several skull joints. They have a large sagittal crest that has become wider and deeper due to powerful jaws. The molars and small molars are wider and flatter than those of other bears, thanks to which pandas have developed the ability to crush tough bamboo. A notable feature of these animals is an additional opposable finger on the hand, known as " thumb pandas." This has caused a lot of confusion in the past when classifying these bears. In fact, this is not a thumb, but a skin protrusion.
reproduction
Female pandas during the breeding season become more active and use scent markings. A study between sexually active females and inactive pandas suggests that scent markings are related to sexual activity. Males may compete for females.
Mating occurs from March to May. The female's estrus lasts approximately 1-3 days. Females lose their previous activity during estrus, become restless and lose their appetite. Most cubs are born in late summer and early autumn. Pregnancy lasts about 6 weeks. At birth, babies are blind and helpless, and their body is covered with a small layer of fur. The weight of newborns is 85-140 g.
After giving birth, the female mother helps the baby to lie down in a position convenient for sucking. The cub can be applied to the mother about 14 times a day, lasting up to 30 minutes per feeding. Bear cubs open their eyes at 3 weeks of age, move independently at 3-4 months, wean from mother's milk at about 46 weeks. The cub stays with the mother until 18 months. Giant pandas do not breed well in captivity.
When studying the behavior of giant pandas in captivity, it was found that twins are born in half of the cases. The mother, as a rule, prefers one of them, and the second soon dies.
Lifespan
One of the giant pandas is known to have reached the age of 34 in captivity, but this is rare. Average duration The life of these animals is 26 years, and occasionally 30 years.
Behavior
Unlike many other bears, giant pandas do not fall into hibernation. But they descend to lower altitudes during the winter. Giant pandas do not build permanent burrows, but take refuge in trees and caves. They are primarily terrestrial animals, but are also good climbers and swimmers. Giant pandas are mostly solitary except during the breeding season. Panda mothers play with their cubs, not only to calm the babies, but also for fun. Some mothers often wake up cubs to play with them.
diet
Giant pandas have a strict energy reserve. They move little and tend to forage while moving. Giant pandas can spend 10-12 hours a day eating. Bamboo is the panda's main food source, but the animal only gets about 17% nutrients contained in leaves and stems. Giant pandas are well known for their upright feeding position, which allows the forelegs to freely handle bamboo stems. An extra finger on the panda's hand helps her to tear open the bamboo. The walls of the panda's stomach are extremely muscular, thanks to which woody food is digested, and the intestines are covered with a thick layer of mucus, which protects against splinters.
Their diet consists of: bamboo stems and shoots, fruits, plants, small mammals, fish and insects.
Threats
The black and white coat of giant pandas may have served as a defense against predators in the past when pandas were under pressure from predators. The black and white pattern gives them a resemblance to a zebra. Also, in the past, when these pandas lived in snowy regions, White color may have helped these bears hide in the area. However, today pandas live in almost snowless areas. Fortunately, today there are no predators that threaten pandas.
Role in the ecosystem
The giant panda population is closely related to bamboo abundance and vice versa. The pandas help spread the bamboo seeds around the area. However, pandas significantly reduce the amount of bamboo, which makes it difficult for themselves to find food. Protected panda habitats will help preserve the natural ones.
Economic value to humans: Positive
Giant pandas have been hunted for their fur. AT last years the hide was seen as a valuable sleeping mat; it is handy, but is also believed to have supernatural protection from ghosts and to help predict the future through dreams. The panda skin is highly valued in Japan, its price reaches about $100. Giant pandas are also popular in zoos and attract many people.
The giant panda, "cat bear" or bamboo bear, is one of the rarest animals on the planet. The panda is considered a national treasure in China and can be executed for killing it. The state leases pandas to zoos in other countries, while all babies born in these zoos will belong to China. Prostozoo found out useful information what is interesting about these funny, but, unfortunately, endangered animals.
For a long time, scientists attributed wild pandas to the raccoon family: it was believed that she was a huge raccoon. But genetic tests have shown that the giant panda is still a bear with its closest relative - spectacled bear living in South America. It turns out that the giant panda is a subspecies of the bear, and not a member of the large panda family.
Source: http://www.animalsglobe.ru
Previously, giant pandas were distributed almost throughout China and Vietnam. At the end of 2014, the number of pandas on planet Earth fluctuates within 1600 animals, and they live only in the mountain forests of the Chinese provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan and some areas of Tibet. For life, giant pandas choose impenetrable bamboo forests at an altitude of 2000-4000 meters above the sea, but sometimes, in hungry winters, they can descend to a height of 800 m to search for fresh shoots or bamboo stalks.
Black and white bears have chosen bamboo thickets as their dwelling not only because it is their main food, but also because of good shelter, which is served by thick bamboo trunks up to four meters high. The habitat halo of males is wider than that of females, because females settle on especially impenetrable hillsides for better protection offspring.
Source: www.globalsingapore.sg
The number of pandas is decreasing due to deforestation and poaching. Giant panda fur is highly valued in Japan, and they are ready to pay up to $180,000 for it. The Japanese use the skins of these cute animals as sleeping mats and believe that dreams seen on such a skin are prophetic.
Hunting for pandas is prohibited in China, and for a killed animal, at best, a life sentence can be awarded. However, the main reason for the extinction of the bamboo bear is still the total deforestation, its habitat.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com
black- polar bear forced to wander all the time, because its main food, bamboo, completely dies out after flowering. Bamboo blooms rarely, once every 20-100 years, but flowering covers large territories, and the next generation of bamboo will appear in this area only in five to ten years.
Pandas have started appearing on migration routes settlements and farms, which made her resettlement impossible. The animal turned out to be practically imprisoned in small territories.
The giant panda has a very unusual body structure and coloring. A cute goon weighs from 17 to 160 kilograms, and reaches a length of 1.2-1.8 meters. The panda's tail, like for a bear, is long - 10-15 centimeters. The hind legs are much shorter than the front legs and have long, sharp claws. On the paws at the base of each finger, bare pads are well developed, which help the panda to skillfully hold even on thin branches.
On the front paws, the bamboo bear has as many as six fingers - five of which are ordinary, and the sixth, "thumb", is a well-developed carpal bone. Six fingers help the panda masterfully cope even with thin bamboo stalks.
Source: www.ritsu.ru
There is a legend about how giant pandas acquired such an unusual coloring of fur. The legend says that once upon a time there lived a girl who loved bears very much and cared for them very much. But now it's gone heavy rain The girl fell ill and died. The pandas grieved so much, cried so much and rubbed their eyes with their paws, clasped their heads with their paws, hugged each other, that from the paws soiled in the ground after the rain there were marks on their skins - black spots around the eyes, black ears, blackened shoulders, front and hind legs. The animals never managed to wash the skin back.
Source: http://www.epochtimes.com.ua
Although the giant panda is considered an omnivore, its main diet is bamboo - the beast eats approximately 30 kilograms of this plant per day, preferring 30 species of bamboo out of 300 growing in China. An adult can eat up to ten tons of bamboo per year. The esophagus and stomach of the animal is covered with elastic mucous tissue, which protects it from damage by hard bamboo chips.
In zoos, giant pandas are fed special "cookies" made of bamboo. But digested plant food the black and white bear is much worse than the herbivores: out of everything eaten - only 17%. Therefore, the panda eats almost all the time to fill the body with nutrients.
Source: http://www.epochtimes.com.ua
In addition to bamboo, the giant panda eats mushrooms, grass, tree roots and bark, plant tubers. She gets protein by eating the eggs of birds, rodents, fish and other small animals - if she can catch them, since the panda is not agile enough. Black and white bears are not averse to eating carrion.
Pandas rarely drink, because succulent bamboo provides them with sufficient moisture, but if there is a river near the bear's habitat, they gladly go to it for a drink.
Source: bradleysanimalplace.wordpress.com
Giant pandas are lovers of a solitary way of life. They are very calm and even phlegmatic. Each panda has its own territory, marked with a secret from the odorous glands. Males allow their borders to be crossed, and females guard their territory very carefully.Pandas are nocturnal animals, during the day they rest or sleep in sheltered places among rocks or in trees. These bumpkins are real masters of climbing trees: they can climb the very high peak tree and walk on the thinnest branches. Favorite activity animals - lie down to rest at the fork of the branches.
Pandas do not like to swim, although they can swim well. Bears love cleanliness, and wash themselves by running in shallow water and spraying themselves.
The giant panda, or bei-shung, which means "polar bear" in Chinese, is a very ancient and rare animal. At home, in China, the panda is so revered that since the second half of the 20th century it has become the national symbol of the Great Celestial Empire (that is, China). There, for the murder of this animal, a person faces the death penalty.
To which family of animals this funny animal was not assigned - and to bears and raccoons. By the way, until recently they were attributed just to the latter, but as a result of various tests, including genetic ones, it was proved that the giant panda is more related to clumsy bears than with raccoons.
West academia I learned about the existence of the giant panda quite late - only in 1869, while in Chinese literature the first mention of these animals is found as early as 3000 years ago (in the Book of History and the Book of Songs).
Range and habitat
The territory inhabited by pandas is small. They are found in the mountainous regions of the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Tibet. Although earlier they also lived in Indochina and on about. Kalimantan. Giant pandas chose dense bamboo forests as their home.
Giant panda habitat 
bamboo forests They live in mountainous regions, at an altitude of about 1200 to 4500 meters above sea level. m.. With the onset of winter, they descend to a height of about 800 meters at sea level, where the climate is cold period year is more favorable.
These good-natured "teddy" bears
The size of an adult panda is quite impressive. Males are slightly larger than females. Their weight reaches 85-125 kg, while females weigh 70-100 kg. The body length of a panda is 1.5-1.8 m.
The panda, unlike other bears, has enough a long tail. Its length reaches 12 cm. The whole body is covered with thick and soft fur. On a light, almost white background, dark areas are located: around the eyes in the form of "glasses", on the hind and front legs, on the shoulders and on the ears. The tip of the tail is also black.
Black ears, "glasses" and paws Despite its good-natured "plush" appearance, the panda's paws are armed with sharp claws, and like all bears, the giant panda can seriously injure a person in cases of attack.
big tail Nutrition
The giant panda got its second name - "bamboo bear" thanks to its diet, which consists of 99% bamboo shoots and stems. Although animal foods, such as eggs and insects, periodically appear on the panda's menu. These foods are the main source of protein. In addition to bamboo, bears will not refuse saffron and iris bulbs. In zoos, they are pampered with sugar cane, apples, carrots, liquid rice porridge and other products.
To get enough of such low-nutrient food, pandas have to eat up to 18 kg of bamboo per day. For the same reason, they are very slow and try to move only as needed. Pandas go on the road only if the food supply in this area is already coming to an end.
With his food, this bear is controlled with extraordinary dexterity. Sometimes one wonders how such thick paws can be so masterfully handled with thin bamboo stalks. A kind of sixth “finger”, which is a modified wrist bone, helps him to hold the stalk.
They drink paeda a little, because most moisture is obtained along with succulent bamboo shoots, which is almost half water. But whenever possible, they still try to quench their thirst in a small river or other body of water.
Lifestyle
Giant pandas are good dart frogs, but prefer to lead a terrestrial lifestyle. They also swim well. Activity is shown at any time of the day. It takes up to 12 hours a day to search for and chew food.
AT winter time, for a short period they can fall into a state resembling hibernation, but this cannot be called a real bear hibernation.
Each individual, whether female or male, has its own territory, which is tirelessly guarded, especially by females.
Playing pandas 
Giant pandas prefer to live alone and unite in pairs only for the period of mating and raising offspring.
They communicate with each other using various sounds, although at first glance it seems that these are rather silent animals. The friendly greeting of the "comrade" is expressed in a kind of bleating, irritation - in a roar or booming buzz. The cubs, in order to attract the mother, begin to whimper and squeal. The display of teeth during the rapid opening and closing of the teeth means that it is better not to approach the panda, as it expresses displeasure and threat.
reproduction
Giant pandas give birth to 1-2 cubs. If two are born, then often in natural habitats the female chooses only one, stronger baby, and begins to care for him. The second one dies. Zoos have developed their own tactics for this case.
Female with cub 
A week old The workers take away the “refusenik”, and then after a couple of days they change places of the cubs. And such a substitution continues throughout the entire period of feeding. Thus, zoo workers manage to raise 2 cubs. Indeed, in the world of these animals, there are VERY LITTLE left - no more than 1600 individuals.
The breeding season begins in the spring. After mating, the development of the embryo may not begin immediately, but after a certain time - 1.5-4 months. This feature is a kind defense mechanism for cubs, because they can be born in the most favorable climatic period. The average duration of pregnancy is approximately 135 days.
Newborn babies are blind and helpless. After giving birth, the mother helps the baby find the nipple. The first few days the female does not leave the baby for a minute. At 47 weeks, milk feeding stops, and the cubs begin to switch to adult food. Up to 1.5 years they are with their mother, who takes part in their games with pleasure.
5 month old baby giant panda Puberty in bamboo bears occurs by 5-7 years. Life expectancy in captivity is quite long - up to 26 years, while in nature they live only up to 14-16 years.
cubs panda and man
Due to their extreme small numbers, giant pandas are not only listed in the IUCN Red Book, but are also protected by all kinds of strict laws (especially in China).
Previously, pandas were exterminated because of their valuable fur, but now you should not even think about it. In nature natural enemies they have few - only leopards and red wolves, but they are already rare in those parts. The main reason for the gradual decline in their numbers is the disappearance of their natural habitat, i.e. bamboo groves and forests. This happens either due to human intervention or natural causes.
Bamboo grows for about 20-25 years, after flowering and the appearance of seeds, it dies off. Thus, entire forests “die out” at once. New shoots from seeds will begin to appear only after 2-3 years. Therefore, for many animals that are completely dependent on bamboo, such periods are disastrous.
The giant panda is very popular. She is the main character of various animated films, depicted on emblems and symbols. various organization, a prime example which is the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The giant panda is an unusual, rare and very cute animal. It would not be an exaggeration to say that not a single animal has conquered the hearts of people like these cute, clumsy and cozy animals. Pandas are favorites of children, zookeepers, photojournalists, toy manufacturers... And, perhaps, no other animal has attracted the attention of scientists and posed so many mysteries to natural scientists.
The giant panda is also called the giant panda. bamboo bear, Tibetan mountain bear, spotted bear.
The phenomenon of the giant panda to the world
The world learned about the existence of giant pandas in the wild mountains in western China in 1869. It was then that the French missionary and naturalist Father Jean Pierre Armand David presented the skin and skeleton of a mysterious animal to compatriot scientists. The beast belonged to a completely new species, which Father David called Ursus melanoleucus, that is, "black and white bear." However, the scientific minds of France drew attention to the similarity of the skeleton and skin of an unprecedented beast with the skeleton and skin of another rather small animal that lives in the same places - with a small panda, which outwardly resembles a cross between a fox and a raccoon, although the raccoon-like body, stripes on the muzzle and a long, ringed tail shows who her ancestors were closely related to.
And decades after this discovery, a new animal, which was called the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), remained mysterious and practically unexplored, and due to the inaccessibility of habitats, it was an extremely tempting trophy not only for naturalists, but also for hunters. It wasn't until 1928 that Theodore Roosevelt Jr.'s expedition managed to track down and shoot a panda.
After these events, a real hunt for a mysterious beast began - museums, in pursuit of fame and fortune, equipped expeditions to acquire a stuffed animal of a new animal. In 1936, New York fashion designer Ruth Harkness returned to her homeland with a particularly enviable trophy - a live panda cub! The baby was named Su-Ling. Following Ruth's example, other hunters also began to bring spotted bears to the largest zoos, and western world literally obsessed with pandas.
After the Second World War, Mei-Mei, Ming, Grumpy, Sonya, Grandmother, Pan-Di, Pan-Da, Pin-Ping, Chi-Chi, An-An, Li-Li were in captivity of zoos. And in 1972, Ling-Ling and Tsing-Tsing, a gift from the Chinese government of the United States, arrived at the Washington Zoo. In the zoos, there was no end to visitors - everyone wanted to admire the funny antics of overseas miracle bears, while experts, meanwhile, collected information to draw up a picture of the natural habitat of the giant panda.
And yet it's a bear
Today there are six in the world: brown, white, spectacled, Malay, sloth and giant panda.
Scientists long time There were disputes about which family the giant panda belongs to - to bears or raccoons, and only relatively recently it was recognized as a bear.
Accumulated evidence, including comparison of blood proteins, indicates that the giant panda, although it branched off the evolutionary tree on its own, is still much closer to the bear family than to raccoons.
Like bears, giant pandas are massive and slow land animals averaging 160 cm long, weighing up to 140 kilograms, and yet, again like many bears, they are able to climb trees well. Short legs with sharp and long claws help them in this. On the trees, bamboo bears hide from danger or sleep. Especially in the art of climbing trees, young individuals succeed.
The tail of a bamboo bear reaches 10-12 cm. The whole body of the beast is covered with thick fur. The peculiar black and white coloration is still unexplained. Some scientists believe that under certain conditions, when chiaroscuro plays on winter snow, white and black spots provide good camouflage. However, the panda in her mountain retreat has no dangerous enemies. Other scientists are of the opinion that such coloring makes animals more visible to the opposite sex (and pandas have poor eyesight), which has great importance during the mating season.
All scientists agree that the giant panda is a special animal. Under natural conditions, it is found in a small area in mountain forests. Chinese province Sichuan. There are also small local populations of these rare bears in the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi.
conservation status
The panda is loved and appreciated not only for its touching appearance, magnificent black and white outfit, peaceful behavior and mysterious story life, but also for its rarity.
China's growing population constantly needed new land for agriculture and timber, resulting in deforestation. Thus, from 1974 to 1989, the habitats of the bamboo bear in Sichuan province decreased by almost 50%. Giant pandas, ousted from the subtropical lowlands, have survived only in high-altitude mixed broad-leaved and coniferous forests with an undergrowth of bamboo and herbs.
Since 1990, giant pandas have been listed as endangered. Fortunately, today their population is growing, and in the Red Book since 2016 they appear as animals in a “vulnerable position”. So, if in 2004 there were 1596 bamboo bears, then by 2014 - already 1864 (and this is 2 times more than at the end of the 1970s). Today, the panda is protected by the Wild Animal Protection Act, according to which the extermination of this animal is punishable by life imprisonment or even death penalty. In 1992, a system of reserves was created in China, of which there are now 67 pieces, and 67% of all pandas in the world live here.
Panda is not only wild beast, but also a symbol. The image of this animal is on the emblems of many firms and companies. This beast is the pride of the Chinese People's Republic, national symbol countries. The souvenir industry replicates countless pandas, and artists depict them on canvas and silk. The bamboo bear is the animal that inspired Peter Scott (who originated the idea for the Red Book) to create the famous WWF emblem.
The inaccessibility and remoteness of the Himalayan shelter of giant pandas, as well as the measures taken by the state to protect them, protect animals from the bullets of hunters. A bamboo curtain hides them from the eyes of inquisitive zoologists in these inhospitable mountains. That is why no one has yet been able to make any systematic observations of bamboo bears in their natural habitat. Basically, information about their habits and behavior is based on observations in zoos. Since there are very few pandas in captivity, the bamboo bear remains one of the most mysterious animals on our planet, as its study in zoos has not helped much to lift the veil of secrecy so far.
Giant panda lifestyle
The habitats of pandas are impenetrable bamboo groves in the mountains at an altitude of 1200-3900 meters. The bear does not build a permanent lair, sometimes it takes refuge in mountain caves or hollow tree trunks. A secluded place provides him with security and peace.
The relatives of the panda are not too favored, each animal has its own territory and protects it as best it can. The individual territory of a male can reach an area of about 30 sq. km, of a female - 5-10 sq. km. The male's area usually overlaps the areas of several females.
This species is characterized by a solitary lifestyle, with the exception of the mating period. Pandas are active mainly at dusk and at night, and during the day they prefer to sleep in trees, curled up in a ball.
During waking hours, the main occupation of pandas is feeding, and their main, and almost the only food, is bamboo shoots. Bamboo makes up no less than 99% of the diet. An adult animal consumes up to 4.5 tons of bamboo per year! Not only juicy and young shoots are used, but also old lignified stems - the beast grinds them with powerful jaws with powerful molars. The unique "sixth claw" - an elongated carpal bone with a fleshy pad - helps the bear to hold the mouth-watering stems in its paw. This bone has developed into a kind of opposing thumb.
Look at the photo of a panda chewing bamboo - the beast is spread out freely, sits on its hind legs and methodically thrusts the stems into its mouth, grabbing them with its back teeth.
Every 30-100 years different types bamboo blossom and die. Pandas endure this by switching to different types of bamboo each time, but to date, the disappearance of habitable places has greatly reduced the choice of food items.
Bamboo is a monotonous and low-nutrient food, it is absorbed by the body with difficulty, and therefore animals have to chew almost all the time they are awake - for 10-12 hours, slowly moving through the bamboo thickets.
In winter, pandas do not hibernate, although they become even slower.
Bamboo bears can make a wide variety of sounds like bleating, barking, and beeping. They also squeak, grumble, moan and even “chirp”.
Pandas at the zoo. Animals have started a fuss, although usually they pay little attention to each other in full accordance with the solitary lifestyle characteristic of this species. That giant pandas are one of the most rare species animals, to some extent it is possible to explain their very low level fertility. Estrus in females occurs only once a year (approximately at the end of March) and lasts no more than three to four days. 4-5 males can compete for one female.
As soon as the mating has taken place, the animals return to their former measured and secluded way of life. Pregnancy lasts 100-150 days. Pandas are characterized by delayed implantation of the blastocyst by 1-3 months. Females give birth every 2-3 years, starting at the age of four
Before giving birth, the female finds refuge in a hollow tree or in a cave, gives birth to cubs and remains in the same place for about a month. Bamboo bears are completely helpless to newborns, they are one of the smallest (relative to the size of the mother) cubs in the animal world. They weigh no more than 150 grams, and grow extremely slowly, reaching the size of an adult only 4 years after birth!
The first fluff in newborns is completely white, and black spots appear on a white background only at the age of one month.
Giant panda cubs are born like this
If a panda gives birth to two (this happens in 60% of cases) or three (which happens very rarely) cubs, then she will take care of only one of the newborns, dooming the rest to starvation. The cub feeds on mother's milk for approximately 47 weeks, and then begins to switch to adult food, but it can live with its mother for up to a year and a half. Becoming independent, some of the juveniles settle in an area overlapping with the parent site, while others travel long distances.
Bamboo bears reach sexual maturity late, at the age of 4 to 8 years.
Zookeepers feed the baby
In captivity, pandas feel quite comfortable, but do not show a desire to continue their race, this is especially true for males. Widely publicized attempts to get offspring from the Chi-Chi contained in London Zoo, and An-Anya from the Moscow Zoo did not give any results. Experiments at the Beijing Zoo were more successful: at least two cubs were born there in captivity.
Since 1990, when breeding pandas in captivity, thanks to artificial insemination, great strides have been made. However, the captive bamboo bear population is still not self-sustaining.
Pandas live an average of 26 years - this is in captivity (in zoos). In nature, their age is shorter - about 20 years.
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