Most commonly remembered for their characteristic black and white coats, this giant animal can be loved by all. From the national animal of China, to the mascot for a wonderful website, here are 20 reasons why giant pandas are quite simply…awesome.
Toilet trouble
Image credits: kids.nationalgeographic.com
Male pandas do a handstand whilst urinating in order to mark the trees.
Turned toes
Image credits: www.newstatesman.com
Pandas are naturally pigeon-toed. This means that they walk with their two front paws turned inwards.
Congratulations! It’s twins
Image credits: science.sandiegozoo.org
Mother pandas in captivity are more likely to give birth to twins. Wild giant pandas are less likely to.
More to hug
Image credits: www.nature.com
An adult giant panda will weigh roughly 90 – 135 kg
Years of wisdom
Image credits: www.sciencemag.org
Pandas have lived on Earth for around two to three million years.
Throat of steel
Image credits: www.chinahighlights.com
Panda throats have a special lining. It is designed to protect them from injuries when eating bamboo.
Strong jaw
Giant pandas’ cheek muscles are incredibly strong to be able to be bite through tough plants such as bamboo. They have about 290 pounds of biting pressure. So, maybe think twice before sticking your hand in there.
Hungry?
Image credits: pandathings.com
A giant panda can peel and eat a bamboo shoot in around 40 seconds. Considering they eat for around 14 – 16 hours a day, that’s a lot of bamboo.
Beautiful over and under
Image credits: theconversation.com
If you shaved a panda, (I beg you not to) the parts of its skin lined with black fur would be black and the parts of its skin lined with white fur would be pink.
Embrace the winter months
Image credits: www.livescience.com
Giant pandas don’t hibernate. Their bamboo – rich diets don’t allow them to build up enough fat reserves to do so.
“Poonya”
Image credits: sansaranepal.com
The word “panda” is believed to be derived from the Nepalese word “poonya” meaning “bamboo eating animal.”
Itty-Bitty-Baby
Image credits: www.smithsonianmag.com
A mother panda is 900 times bigger than her newborn cub. If put in terms of humans (comparing a baby panda to a roughly 8 pound baby), the mother would weigh a whopping 7,200 pounds.
Big bucks
Image credits: www.britannica.com
Panda fur (rather unfortunately for them) is worth between $60,000 and $100,000 on the illegal market.
Dinky
Image credits: www.insideedition.com
Newborn baby pandas are roughly the same size as a stick of butter and weigh about the same as an apple. I don’t know about you, but to me that’s pretty damn cute.
Because nobody can hate a panda
Image credits: www.goeco.org
For hundred of years, giant pandas have been a symbol of peace in China. In the past, tribes at war would raise flags with pictures bearing pictures of pandas on them in order to call and truce and end fighting
Let’s just walk on all fours for now
Image credits: nationalzoo.si.edu
Giant pandas are capable of standing upright, however, their legs are not strong enough to support the weight of their larger bodies.
High – fibre diet
Image credits: edition.cnn.com
An adult panda can produce up to 62 pounds of droppings in 24 hrs during the spring months. Only a fairly small percentage of the food in their diet is digested.
Carnivorous pandas
Image credits: choice.npr.org
Although the giant panda’s diet is made up of around 99% bamboo, their digestive systems are in fact designed to eat meat.
They don’t come cheap
Image credits: www.nbcnews.com
Pandas are extremely expensive to keep in captivity due to the expenses for all their requirements. To keep a panda in a zoo, it would cost around 5 times more than it would to keep an elephant (the second most expensive animal).
Tales of Old
Image credits: www.inkdancechinesepaintings.com
According to Chinese legend, the giant panda was originally plain white in colour. A young girl attempted to rescue a panda cub from a leopard and she was in turn killed. Many pandas came to her funeral, each wearing black bands of ashes around their arms in respect. As they comforted one another, embraced and wiped their tears, they smudged the ashes over one another 🐼
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