Hellooooo Panda!

Hellooooo Panda!

We are meeting our last animal here in China- probably the most iconic one. The Giant Panda is close to our heart. These funny bears call just a few zoos home and we have been lucky enough to have a pair and their offspring right down the road from HQs at Zoo Atlanta. Let’s learn more about these national symbols of China.

Giant Panda Fun Facts: 

• Giant pandas live in bamboo forests in the mountains of China.
• That bamboo makes up 99% of their diet. That’s right, these carnivores eat a mostly herbivore diet, with the occasional fish or protein.
• Because bamboo is not very nutritional, pandas can eat 20-40 pounds a day.
• They have an elongated wrist bone called a pseudo-thumb (fake thumb), that helps them hold bamboo.
• Pandas grow up to 5 feet long and can weigh up to 100 lbs.
• Females give birth to little pink cubs whose eyes and ears are closed when they are born.
• Those cubs stay with their mom for about a year and a half.
• Pandas are excellent climbers.
• Fossils of giant pandas ancestors have been found that are 1-2 million years old.
• They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

These funny bears are one of our favorites. Their unusual markings make them a favorite with many people! They have a big fan club! One of our favorite comics is all about pandas- it’s called Your Brain On Pandas! Check it out!