Giant pandas!

   I don't know about you but I absolutely love pandas! Not only are these creatures huge but they are so fluffy and adorable!  I've always had a thing with giant pandas because they are so adorable and I'd love to share some stuff about this creature that I'm so obsessed with!

Unfortunately there aren't many of these animals left in the world and scientists have been trying for quite some time to increase its population with many failed attempts and a few successful attempts. Over the last decade, the population of the giant pandas have fortunately increased by 16.8%! 

 

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  Here are a few awesome facts about them that you probably didn't know:  

• These giant panda bears are constantly eating a lot of food everyday. But the big question is how much bamboo do they eat in a day? These adorable creatures eat about 12 kilograms of bamboo a day! Yup, 12 kilograms! The digestive systems of giant pandas are not equipped to easily break down bamboo so it is difficult for the pandas to get a sufficient amount of protein and energy from the plant. That's why they eat tremendous amounts of bamboo.  

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•  Unlike other bears, pandas don't hibernate. Their bamboo diet doesn't allow them to build up enough fat to be able to hibernate for the winter. When the temperature starts to drop all they do is relocate to warmer temperatures.   
• Pandas sleep for approximately 10-16 hours a day  2-4 hours at a time.
• Pandas have thumbs much like humans do. The front paws of pandas have a special bone found in their wrists called the radial sesamoid bone. This bone helps them to hold on to bamboo much more easily. 

 

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• The scientific name for the giant panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca.
• Baby pandas are born blind and very tiny. The average weight is 100g! Their eyes only start to open after they are 6-8 weeks old. No other mammal gives birth to a baby so much smaller than the adult of its species except marsupials, such as kangaroos, whose new born babies live in the mother's pouch until they are more fully developed.
• Baby pandas are only able to start eating bamboo when they are 6 months old. 

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•  Pandas poop up to 40 times a day! Their poop weighs about 21-28kg. Pandas even sometimes poop while eating. 
• Pandas don't only consume bamboo, they also eat rodents, green corn, honey, grasses, flowers and vines. Bamboo contains very little nutritional value so that's why they eat other things to get the energy that they need. 
•  More than half of new-born panda babies die from being accidentally crushed by their mothers.
•  A panda is the most expensive animal to keep in a zoo.  
• The giant panda's face isn't actually chubby, it has massive cheek muscles which make it look like it is chubby.  
• Last but not least, these adorable creatures use their very good sense of smell to find the best bamboo to eat. 

Hope you enjoyed reading these interesting facts about this fluffy animal!

THANK YOU FOR READING!