Giant Panda : How China's Economic Growth Affects Populations

With a touch of humor, geology, evolutionary theory, biology, cartoon characters and even some references to baseball, The Panda’s Thumb definitely makes excellent reading for people with all types of interests. The old cliché, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” or in this case, title, holds true for The Panda’s Thumb. Theories concerning adaptations of the panda are only a fraction of the many exciting facts held within the pages of this publication. Gould is able to put what he writes about in words that are easy to understand without compromising the quality of the information. Many questions are raised in this book. Some questions that science just can’t answer at the

The Red Panda is part of the endangered species due to the decline of their habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and inbreeding depression, although red pandas are protected by national laws in their range countries. According to the recent data by IUCN “Red Panda is listed as Endangered because its population has plausibly declined by 50% over the last three generations (estimated at 18 years) and this decline is projected to continue, and probably intensify, in the next three generations.” This is due to the fact that their natural habitat is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed. Red Pandas are often difficult to be seen in its favored habitat in the bamboo forests in the Eastern Himalayas. Less than 10,000 exist in the wild today, threatened by habitat loss, grazing pressures and hunting. “Red pandas are often killed when they get caught in traps meant for other animals such as wild pigs and deer. They are also poached for their

According to a reliable website” The giant panda is a well known and well-loved species that is being driven to extinction by habitat loss. It has become one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only 1,600 of them left” (Exploring nature education). Also According to another credible website about polar bears, “Polar bears might not be endangered but they are one category off of becoming endangered, there are 20,000-25,000 left worldwide” (animalpawnation).As you can see the Giant panda is classified as endangered. There are only about 1,600 left in the world. 1,600 may be a lot but surprisingly not to many scientists and researchers. On the other hand polar bears are classified as threatened one step away from becoming endangered. There are only about 20,000- 25,000 left worldwide.Other than being endangered and threatened they also share many similar characteristics. The giant panda and polar bear are both similar and different in their physical qualities, habitat, and diet.

Pandas can typically reach a height of 5 feet and a weight of up to 350 pounds. They are mammals so, they have a backbone and live-birth their cubs. Body shape resembles that of the bear, but they are sometimes classified as a member of the raccoon species. Panda Bears have a extra finger on each hand that is used for tearing plants (like bamboo) and other food. Also an amenity for their eating habits

In addition I’m gonna talk about they’re Appearance. The giant panda is black and white it has a black circle around its eye. Giant pandas are like bears in a smaller size, and body shape. They can also stand on there back legs. The pandas can be up to 5- 6ft tall almost as tall as me. They can weigh around 220- 250lbs. But the males can weigh 350lbs . The male pandas always weigh more because they eat a lot more. The female Pandas don’t eat as much as the males do.The question is why are the pandas fur black and white. So up to date the reason is actually unknown. But they said that the color helps them camouflage for the giant pandas in their natural environment.Until now, every 2-3 years the female panda have 1-2 baby cubs. The cubs usually weigh only 5 ounces at birth. They are every tiny but they need to be taken care .

The Red Panda lives in the Himalayas (Southeast Asia Mountains, China), the temperate, forest mountain regions of that part, in the mountains. The Red Panda’s hard jaw and strong teeth, help the animal eat its primary food source, bamboo, much like it’s cousin, the Great Panda. Some Distinctive features of the Red Panda are white colored cheeks and ears, red stripes across their side, and of course the spots above its muzzle. The Red Panda is officially an endangered species across the world. They have fur all across their body, to keep them warm in the winter, and extra protection.

The Qinling giant pandas are a slowly diminishing species. If left unprotected they will eventually become extinct. Fan, Li, Quan, Wu, Hu, and Yang investigated the effects of road construction on endangered Qinling giant pandas. Road construction can greatly affect the environment. According to the article, the harmful effects of roadway expansion “extend to an area ten times broader than the roadway itself” (Fan et al., 2011, p. 145). It can cause harmful chemicals to contaminate water sources and food supplies. Subsequently, road construction isolates species from one another, and this in turn “blocks gene flow…, which steeply [decreases] genetic diversity” (Fan et al., 2011, p. 145). On the other hand, road networks can isolate these species from their main water source and/or food supply. The giant panda’s only food source is bamboo. Bamboo is a fickle plant that grows in certain habitats, under pristine conditions. Therefore, becoming isolated from bamboo forestry is detrimental to their survival. Researchers investigated the “impact of road construction on giant panda’s habitat and its carrying capacity in the Qinling Mountains” (Fan et al., 2011, p. 145).

The population of giant pandas is decreasing so rapidly that it has reached the point that they are considered an endangered species. These black and white bears reside mainly in China where seventeen percent of the total population of pandas reside. They are habituated in bamboo forests, which are not only the panda 's’ home, but also their main source of food. A panda 's diet consists of ninety percent bamboo and ten percent of mushrooms, insects, fish, plants and other small rodents. These bamboo forests are being taken from them, because the human population is constantly expanding and using their bamboo forests as land for growing crops or to build roads. Combined with the natural dying on bamboo and logging, these defenseless panda bears are forced to seek new areas and see whether or not there is a sufficient amount of bamboo for them to consume, although many of them fail to do so and end up dying of starvation instead. As of today, there are only twenty nine diminished and fragmented areas that have the appropriate habitat to support the remaining panda bears. China’s pandas have been threatened with extinction, suffered from low birth rates, and have been ridiculed by human’s interference with their habitat; now they are faced with another obstacle, starvation.

Panda Bears mainly live in Central China in bamboo forests with coniferous and broadleaf trees that are 5000 to 10000 feet tall. They enjoy spending their time in cool and wet areas. When considering a place to live, Panda Bears look for two features; tall bamboo trees and a nearby stream.

According to Holland, “Like many endangered species, giant pandas have declined as a growing human population has grabbed wild lands for human uses. That problem hasn’t gone away since the species was labeled endangered in 1990.”

First I will describe the red panda's habitat. A red panda's habitat consists of bamboo forests and grassy areas with lots of trees. They use trees to keep away from predators. Also, most of their food sources are in trees as well. They are common in areas such as Sichuan, Yunnan and other places in Asia. Red pandas are always on the move. They don't have dens or homes, so they find temporary holes in which they raise their young during their early stages. Then the red pandas pack up, and move again.

Both red pandas and giant pandas have ideal bodies for climbing bamboo stalks and gathering food. Both pandas have a layer of thick furry skin which protects them from the cold weather of China, but they have different fur colour. The fur of a giant panda is white with black spots around the eyes, face, and torso. They weigh about 200 pounds! Red pandas have red and orange striped fur with a bushy red tail. On the other hand, red pandas only weigh about 10 pounds. This makes giant pandas 20 times heavier than red pandas!

Because of their low-energy diet they avoid stressful situations, preferring shallow slopes and solitary living. They use scent markers to avoid one another. Giant pandas don’t roar like other bears, but baaaa like goats, or or honk, growl and bark to talk. Cubs whine and croak for attention.

The black-and-white marking of panda function as camouflage and communication. It’s not easy to infer the reason, because there are no other animals have the same appearance like pandas. They took different fur of a panda and compared with other species which is related to pandas. Unlike bears, pandas can not hibernation, they need to find different habitat year-round. So, the black fur can help them hide in shade and white fur can help them hide in snow. Moreover, their fur on its head is used to communicate and some black fur can help them protect themselves from their competitors.

What animal is black and white and loved all over the world? If you guessed the giant panda, you're right! The giant panda is also known as the panda bear, bamboo bear, or in Chinese as Daxiongmao, the "large bear cat." Actually, its scientific name means "black and white cat-footed animal." Giant pandas are found only in the mountains of central China. They live in dense bamboo and coniferous forests at altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. The mountains are covered in heavy clouds with torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year. Giant pandas are bear-like in shape with striking black and white markings.