Pandas

Elephants Lowland Gorillas Orangutans Pandas

Pandas

 

 

two year old female, Mei Lan

Video of Mei Lan eating BamBoo

The Giant Panda has a black-and-white coat. Adults measure around 1.5 m long and around 75 cm tall, at the shoulder. Males are 10-20% larger than females. Males can weigh up to 115 kg (253 pounds). Females are generally smaller than males, and can occasionally weigh up to 100 kg (220 pounds). The Giant Panda lives in mountainous regions, such as Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, and Tibet.

 


The Giant Panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into its shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The Giant Panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The Giant Panda has large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo.

 


The Giant Panda has a paw, with a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which helps the Giant Panda to hold bamboo while eating. Stephen Jay Gould used this example in his book of essays concerned with evolution and biology, The Panda's Thumb.

 

The Panda's Thumb.

The Giant Panda can usually live to be 20-30 years old in captivity.

Text from Wikipedia

 

 

Lun Lun with her two month old male

 

 

the young male alone

 

looking curiously

 

Yang Yang, the male


Photo Gallery of Mei Lan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Elephants Lowland Gorillas Orangutans Pandas

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