(PANDAS/FUN ANIMAL FACTS) It’s National Panda Day! Pandas are adorable, gentle giants who are in dire need our help.
Giant pandas have been on the endangered list since 1990, with habitat loss and poaching being the biggest threats to their population’s survival. With only 1,000 giant pandas left in the world, the species is now on the brink of extinction.
In celebration of National Panda Day, scroll below for 15 fun and interesting facts that will inspire you to help save this amazing animal from going extinct. — Global Animal
1. A Panda’s diet consist of 99 percent bamboo.
2. When giving birth, a mother panda is 900 times larger than her cub.
3. Pandas have lived on Earth for two to three million years.
4. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, and are fertile only two or three days out of the year.
5. Female cubs become adults at about five years of age, whereas male cubs don’t become adults until around seven-years-old.
6. A panda can spend 14-16 hours a day eating bamboo.
7. An adult giant panda can weigh anywhere between 200-300lbs.
8. A panda’s hair is thick and wiry and can grow up to four inches.
9. Giant pandas do not hibernate because their bamboo diets do not allow them to store enough fat reserves for the winter.
10. Most of the food a panda eats is not digested. For this reason, they can produce up to 62lbs. of droppings a day.
11. In China, pandas are considered national treasures.
12. Because pandas are so large, they do not have natural predators. However, snow leopards will prey on vulnerable panda cubs.
13. Pandas’ paws have something very close to a thumb which they use to hold bamboo stalks.
14. Giant pandas have a great sense of smell. Even at night they can find the best bamboo stalks by scent.