Panda

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, meaning "black and white cat-foot") is a type of bear. It lives in bamboo forests in central China. The giant panda is an endangered animal. In November 2007, China had 239 giant pandas who lived in captivity. There are 27 giant pandas which live in zoos outside of China. The exact number of giant pandas in the wild is not known. Some sources say there are about 1,590, other sources give a number between 2,000 and 3,000. The number of giant pandas in the wild seems to be increasing.

Life

Giant pandas live alone. Females have a territory which they defend against other females. When female pandas are ready to mate, they give off a special scent and make a loud bleating noise to tell the males that they are ready. Giant pandas mate between the months of March and Maywhich is the Summer months in China. If there are several males, they fight each other. The one who wins – the strongest male, then mates with the female. In August or September, the female gives birth to one or two babies. If she has two babies, she will only raise one baby, and the other baby dies, no-one really knows how the female panda choose between the two. Giant panda babies are very small, and weigh only 90–130 grams, which is about 1/900 of its mother's weight. The baby drinks milk until it is 8–9 months old. Young pandas live with their mothers until they are 18–24 months old. They become mature when they are 5–7 years old. Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate.

Classification

There is another type of creature that shares the giant panda's habitat and has many similar traits. This is the red panda, which scientists thought must be related. But a giant panda is a bear, and a red panda is more closely related to a raccoon or a skunk. The red and giant pandas have many things in common. Both have a similar diet, eating mostly bamboo.They also have the same kind of enlarged bone, called a pseudothumb. This allows them to better grip the bamboo they eat. Red and giant pandas also live in the same habitat.

Currently there are two subspecies of giant panda:

• Ailuropoda melanoleuca melanoleuca – Most pandas belong to this subspecies. Most of these animals can be found in Sichuan, China. They have the typical dark black and white contrasting colors.

• Qinling panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis – This subspecies is only found in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi, China. They live between 1,300 and 3,000 m of altitude. Instead of the typical dark black and white pattern of Sichuan pandas, Qinling pandas have a dark brown versus light brown pattern. Their skull is smaller than their relatives, and it has larger molars.