Research Paper On Giant Panda

The giant panda is one of the most well-known endangered animals on the planet. Currently, there are about 1600 giant pandas left in the wild and more than 300 pandas living in breeding centers and zoos (8). This elusive bear-like mammal has been the face of the World Wildlife Fund since 1961 the same year the organization was created. The panda is the rarest of the bear family and mainly live in bamboo forests in the mountains of western China (3). An adult giant panda can reach about 300 lbs. and be 4ft to 5ft tall (8). Their average lifespan in the wild is about 20 years; they typically live longer in captivity (8). The resources needed for them to survive are very minimal. About 99% of their diet consists of bamboo (6). They also feed on other

Since their diet consists mostly of bamboo they need to live in a broadleaf and coniferous forest with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet (6). Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year is essential in these forests, and they often have heavy cloud cover (6). Pandas are an animal that likes to be alone, so it is rare for them to be in close proximity to each other. Since the panda is an animal that likes being alone they don’t have much competition for their resources or their habitat (11). Some potential predators include jackals, snow leopards, and yellow-throated martens (11). These predators typically don’t go after the adult panda because of their size, but they do prey on the panda cubs (11). One of the biggest competitors and threats to their resources and habitat is human encroachment (10). The increase of roads and railroads is fragmenting up their habitat causing them to isolate the pandas to one area where resources can become scarce quickly (10). Having the pandas isolated makes it even harder for pandas to reproduce and grow their population because they aren’t able to access each