Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

The name Panda Bear translates from Chinese to “black-and-white cat-foot”. These cuddly looking animals are mammals in the bear family. A Panda Bear’s diet may consist of honey, eggs, fish, yams, and 90 % bamboo. The adult Panda Bear eats an average of 20-30 lbs. of bamboo shoots a day. These adorable bears are very friendly to mankind, however, will attack humans if provoked or feel the need to protect their young. Panda Bears are included on the endangered species list due to an estimation of only 3,000 now living in the wild. This severe decline is due to their continual habitat loss, poachers, and a very low birthrate, even in the wild. During the 1970’s, the People’s Republic of China established a cultural exchange of Panda Bears called the “Panda Diplomacy”, for zoos in the West. This release of Panda Bears from China gave the United States an opportunity to raise and study Panda Bears. Today, the exchange is now a 10 year loan and there are many fees required to pay China in order to keep the bears.

“An adult Giant Panda in the wild consumes roughly 28 lbs. of bamboo a day. To support the Giant Panda for a year, it will eat around 10,000 lbs. of bamboo.”

Did You Know??

On September 6, 2006, Yang Yang and Lun Lun became proud parents of Mei-Lan. This event was the 5^th Panda birth to occur in US Zoos within the last 6 years.

www.ZooAtlanta.org

10 yr. old father panda, Yang Yang, eating bamboo at Zoo Atlanta.

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Adopt Your Own Panda !

On Aug. 30, 2008, 12 yr. old Lun Lun gave birth to her second cub at Zoo Atlanta. Presently, there are only 1600 known Pandas living in the wild and 230 in the Zoos.