Panda Life Diary 3

Giant panda (scientific name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca): belongs to the only mammal of the genus panda, the panda subfamily of the Ursidae of the order Carnivora. There are only two subspecies. The male individual is slightly larger than the female. The body is fat like a bear, plump and rich, with a round head and a short tail, with a head and body length of 1.2-1.8 meters and a tail length of 10-12 cm. It weighs 80-120 kilograms, and can weigh up to 180 kilograms. Its body color is black and white, its cheeks are round, there are large dark circles, the iconic inner figure walking style, and the sharp claws like a scalpel. The giant panda's skin is thick, up to 10 mm at its thickest point. The black and white appearance is conducive to hiding in dense forest trees and snow-covered ground and not easy to be found by natural enemies.
Lives in dense bamboo forests at an altitude of 2600-3500 meters, where the air is thin all year round, with clouds and mist, and the temperature is below 20°C. Abundant bamboo, topography and distribution of water sources are conducive to this species to build nests and hide and nurture young. Giant pandas are good at climbing trees and also love to play. The behavior of climbing a tree is generally a way for the weak to avoid the strong when the proposal is approaching, or to avoid danger, or when they meet each other. Giant pandas cut half of their eating time every day, and most of the remaining half of the time is spent in their sleep. In the wild, giant pandas sleep for 2-4 hours in the middle of every two meals. 99% of the food of giant pandas is bamboo. There are 12 genera and more than 60 kinds of bamboo plants that can be eaten by giant pandas. Giant pandas in the wild have a life span of 18-20 years, and can exceed 30 years in captivity.
Giant pandas have been living on the earth for at least 8 million years. They are known as "living fossils" and "Chinese national treasures". They are the image ambassadors of the World Wide Fund for Nature and the flagship species of the world's biodiversity conservation. As of January 2021, the wild population of Chinese giant pandas has increased to 1864.