Pandas sleep about 12 hours every day!

     Giant Pandas communicate like we do with noises, but they also use scent markings. Scientists have learned that a bark means hello and a growl means that they are frightened. They don’t use these much though because they are usually always alone and they try to avoid others.

     Pandas are very picky eaters.   They usually only eat the soft middle of the bamboo.  Because they are so picky they don’t get too much fat, so they can’t hibernate.  They have the same digestive system as a raccoon.

     Adult pandas spend their whole day eating, sleeping, and occasionally climbing.  Pandas sleep twelve hours per day. The only times they are really active is in the morning and evening.  Cubs are much more active than their parents.  They are big climbers and spend a lot of their time in trees.  Pandas like to stay within a home range of two –four miles but they are not territorial.  Pandas mark routes for the future by clawing or rubbing up against an object or tree. 

     Pandas don’t live as long as we do. They live eighteen to twenty years in the wild and up to thirty years in captivity. Pandas rarely have twins but when they do usually only one lives.  Pandas don’t like water and never immerse themselves fully.  Adult pandas scratch themselves to get clean.

     Giant pandas are an endangered species and the way they behave can sometimes affect their chance of survival.

                                      Adult Giant pandas spend their whole day eating and

                                      sleeping and occasionally climbing. Their main diet is bamboo.

Sources:

Pandas: A Portrait of the animal world, by Jill Caravan

The Panda, by Valerie Tracqui

Panda Rescue, by Dan Bortolotti

www.worldwildlifefund.com

A Giant panda sleeping in a hollow tree

Giant Pandas don’t have a regular sleeping place but they prefer a hollow tree, they usually sleep two to four hours at a time.  Giant Pandas live from twenty to thirty years of age. They have very bad eyesight but they have a great sense of smell. Giant Pandas  have amazing instincts though, because of their great smell. They swim a lot too and they’re great swimmers so the predators can never get them in the water. Giant Pandas live in southwestern China. 

The height of a Giant Panda.

Sources: 

Panda Rescue, by Dan Bortolotolli                                                                     

Giant Pandas, by Gail Gibbons         

Pandas: A Portrait of the Animal World, by Jill Caravan

www.wwf.org