Giant Pandas

- Giant Pandas are nothing but the black and white bears. They belong to the same family of bears called 'Ursidae' . They are native to the mountains of central China. The black patches of fur around their eyes, ears, legs and shoulders would act as a camouflage among the rocky mountains filled with snow.

-99% of their diet consists of bamboo. They spend most of their time in munching the bamboo. Though they occasionally feed on fish, leaves and honey... they love to eat the leaves and stems of bamboo. It's really expensive to keep Pandas in the Zoo as they can chew up to 50 kgs. of bamboo per day.

- We all have heard about the polar bears hibernating during the winter. This means that they remain idle for months together... almost in a state of sleep! Though the Pandas belong to the family of bears and live in snow hills. They won't hibernate. Instead, they get down the mountains and spend the winter times.

- Chinese believe that the black and white colors of Panda reflect a perfect harmony of nature. They symbolized panda for peace and harmony. They even use to hoist a flag with the picture of Panda to stop a battle.

-Pandas live around 30 years and gain an average weight of 100 kgs. They are very slow moving animals and give an appearance of a lazy log. But while chased, they could gain a reasonable speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Though they love to walk on their four legs, they can occasionally stand on their hind legs. If measured in a standing pose, they would be at a height around 5-6 feet.

- As Pandas rely highly on the bamboo trees, deforestation was directly affecting their species. People used to hunt Panda for their meat and skin. Even though the hunting of Pandas was made illegal, poaching still continues. As the number of Giant Pandas was just below 2000 in the wild, steps to conserve them were gaining momentum. The WWF organization, which strives for the conservation of endangered animals, has placed the picture of Giant Panda on its emblem.