This list of interesting facts about pandas is probably well timed when you bear in mind the two new arrivals at Edinburgh Zoo which have made headline news around the world. While many of us will have seen pandas on the television and even at zoos around the world what do you really know about the panda and its lifestyle?
We have put together a list of interesting facts about pandas and if you have any ideas or suggestions for the list then please drop us an e-mail and we will add your comments. We will be adding to this list in the weeks, months and years ahead and hope that the existence of the panda, and the giant panda in particular, can be secured in the future. One interesting piece of information from our list is the fact that the panda has been on this earth for over 600,000 years yet some varieties of panda stand on the verge of extinction today.
The list of interesting facts about pandas is as follows: –
The giant panda is native to China and Tibet
Pandas are one of the only mammals not used in Chinese medicine
The natural habitat for a panda is damp coniferous forest
A panda needs to eat around 30lbs of bamboo each and every day
A baby panda is around 1/900th of the size of its mother
A fully grown giant panda can reach 6 feet in height
Despite their lazy image pandas are good at climbing trees
A female panda can only conceive once every year over a period of one to 2 days
There are less than 1000 pandas in the wild and less than 100 in captivity
A panda can spend up to 16 hours a day eating food
Pandas have been on this earth for over 600,000 years
A panda can sleep for between eight and 12 hours a day but they do not hibernate
A newborn panda is completely blind at birth
Their distinctive markings do not appear until the 10th day of life
A panda can walk at four months of age
A baby panda will spend the first two years of its life with its mother
Pandas are an endangered species because of their low birth rates and high infant death rates
An average male panda will weigh around 220lbs while a female panda around 193lbs
The life expectancy of it panda in captivity is 30 years and 20 years in the wild
A giant panda’s teeth are up to 7 times bigger than a human’s teeth
Pandas cannot go without food for more than six hours
A giant panda will sit down or lie down when eating
