Giant Panda Life Cycle

 By Maddie W. and Max G.

       Pandas live 14-20 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity because in the wild, bamboo is being cut down and things attack them. In captivity, they are protected and fed bamboo 3 times a day.

 Females have 8 successful babies in a lifetime. Panda babies live with their mother for 3 years. Until then, they’re helpless. The babies are first born 800 times smaller than their mother! That’s about the size of a stick of butter.

          First born babies are pink and they have very little fur. They will start to grow more when they are 2 weeks old. They are born blind and defenseless. Their eyes open when they are about 40 days old. Panda mothers only care for 1 baby at a time.

       Females reach sexual maturity in their sixth or seventh spring. The pandas usually mate in March or May. They usually avoid other pandas except when mating or tending to the cub.  The female’s mating period lasts for about 2 days. The gestation period for a human is 9 months, but for pandas, it varies from 3-5 months.

            Pandas rarely breed in captivity. Baby pandas grow dramatically.  When it’s first born, it’s tiny. But when its 7 months old, it weighs 20 pounds and can already climb and eat bamboo on its own. When it reaches 8 months, it weighs 55 pounds and is 32 inches long.

          Baby pandas are born 800 times smaller than their mother. They live up to 16 more years in captivity.

Sources:                                                                                                         

Panda Rescue, by Dan Bortolotti

Little Panda, by Joanne Ryder

The Panda, by Valerie Tracqui

Giant Pandas, by Ovid K. Wong

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

http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/giant_panda/

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_giant_panda.htm

Giant Pandas Life Cycle

By Joshua D and Carrera C.

The main reason pandas are dying, is because mankind is cutting down bamboo. 

                 Humans live up to 80 years old.  They can also live longer.  But how long do pandas live?  In China, in the wild, they can live up to 14-20 years.  In captivity they can live up to 30 years.  Giant pandas scientific name is Ailuropoda Melaoleuca.

                  When a baby panda is born it's normally the size of a stick of butter. The newborn cub is 1/400^th size of their mother.  Newborns are born naked, pink, with little hair.  When a new born panda is born, the mother will cradle the baby panda.  Giant pandas usually have only one cub, they are usually born in a hollow tree or cave.  As a baby panda grows, it will leave its mother at 18 months (one year and six months).  Pandas are dependent on their mom for the first few months.  In two weeks, they gain 13 ounces.  A newborn panda weighs only 90-130 grams.  A baby panda average weight is 4 ounces. Baby pandas are fully weaned at 8-9 months.

                 Growing pandas usually mate in March-May and in the springtime. Giant pandas are shy, so, they tend to stay by themselves. Giant pandas can weigh 165-300.  Giant pandas are highly endangered because in the changes of their habitat, and their bamboo supplies are being cut down.  There are only 500 PANDAS left in the world.  Pandas are mammals that are born very tiny, grow large, and live alone in the wild as adults.

This is the transformation of the giant panda. 

Sources:

Panda Rescue by Dan Bortolotti

Giant Pandas by John Bonnett Wexo

A  New True Book: Giant Pandas by Ovid K. Wong

Giant Pandas by Gail Gibbons

www.panda.org