Giant Panda Behavior

By Ben.S and Madeline.M

Pandas climb trees to escape danger 

Pandas spend more than 12 hours a day eating. They mostly eat bamboo, but sometimes they hunt small animals and birds. They move very slowly, but they can move very fast if scared. They also climb trees to avoid danger and they have a lot of determination. The babies climb trees because they aren’t as good at fighting predators. Pandas also sleep in trees, so being able to climb trees is necessary. The front of their body is strong, which helps them climb.

          When the mothers are in gestation period they do not eat. Another strange fact about pandas is that they carry their babies in their mouth and when the babies are born they have no hair.  When babies are 3 months old they eat a normal portion of food, they beg for food.  When they are two months old they crawl around the den. Panda’s can breed and have babies at 3 or 4 years old.  Males are more aggressive than females and they communicate by rubbing smells.  The males compete for the female’s attention.  In captivity they do not breed well.

          Pandas like to play in the snow.  They also can do somersaults.  Pandas destroy toys quickly in the zoo.  They scratch trees to mark their territory.  Pandas are very slow but active creatures who like to play, mate, take care of their babies, and eat bamboo.

 A giant panda marking its territory 

Sources:

Giant Pandas by John Bonnett Wexo

A Book About Pandas by Ruth Belov  Ross

Panda Math by Ann Whitehead Nagda

http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_giant_panda.htm http://www.bearbiology.com/iba/bears-of-the-world/giant-panda.html

Pandas’  Behavior

By Erik P. and Ella S.

Giant pandas carry their young with their mouth. 

Pandas eat for a long time then they sleep then they eat again. They can eat as much as 16 hours. They can eat more than 10000 pounds of bamboo in one year. In a bamboo forest a panda can sit in one spot and eat more than 3400 bamboo stalks easily in one day. Pandas would rather eat tender bamboo shots and leaves if they can find them.  They also like big bamboo plants. Pandas have five claws and an extra thumb it is a bone in their wrist they use for grabbing bamboo.

            One scientist found a place where a panda was sledding down a snow covered hill.  Pandas love the cold. In zoos pandas are given blocks of ice sometimes they go to sleep on them.

            Pandas sometimes live in hollow trees. Pandas carry their babies with their teeth by the neck. The mothers protect their babies by biting the predator’s neck to kill it.

            The males mark their territory by smells though they do not defend their territory.Pandas are interesting animals to study.   

Giant pandas sled down  hills.

Sources:

 Giant Pandas by John Bonnett Wexo

 Panda Math by Ann Whitehead Nagda

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/ex_panda_station.html

http://www.bearbiology.com/iba/bears-of-the-world/giant-panda.html