  CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus
species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
GENERAL
INFO
As of 2004 there were about 1,600 Giant Pandas living in
the wild and recently it has been obvious that the wild panda population
has been recovering steadily. Adult pandas can grow to be 150 cm tall and
weigh 100 to 150 kg.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The panda's black and white coat is thought to be used as camoflauge in
the shadows during the Chinese winter.
HABITAT
The Giant Panda
lives in twenty or so isolated patches of mountain forest-mostly made of
bamboo- in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. It used to be widespread
throughout southern and eastern China, as well as Burma and northern
Vietnam.
DIET
The panda's daily menu
consists of the leaves, stems, and shoots of the various bamboo species.
Only about one percent of their diet consists of other plants and meats.
REPRODUCTION
The Giant Panda reaches
sexual maturity at five-and-a-half to six-and-a-half years and gestation
takes about ninty-five to one-hundred-and-sixty days. Mating season in
during spring, between March and May. The reproductive rate is about one
cub every two years for a single panda.
BODY SYSTEMS
Circulatory- four chambered heart and two loop system.
HUMAN
IMPACT
People have been encroaching on the habitat of
the Giant Panda for economic development it has put a large strain on the
ecosystem. The lack of enforcement and management on pre-set reserves have
lead to poaching for furs and illegal logging and harvesting herbs. The
poaching is low leveled and poachers will rarely, intentionally kill a
panda but sometimes they find an injured or already dead by a trap set for
musk deer and black bears.
SOURCES
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas/pandasforkids/classification/classification.htm
http://www.desktoprating.com/wallpapers/animal-wallpapers-pictures/panda-bear-wallpaper.jpg
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/giant-panda/
http://wwf.panda.org
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