Panda is considered by many to be a cute bear. What contributes to the cute and charming appearance of this "teddy" bear. The word panda itself means cat-bear. Amusing bumpkin is very similar to an ordinary bear, differs in small sizes and nice coloring of wool. The panda's paws, chest, ears and shoulders are black, and the rest of its furry coat is white. Small, almost like cats, eyes are also black with a nice vertical section of the pupils.
Power Features
Panda refers to animals that eat everything. What does a panda like to eat? In nature, prefers to eat plant foods, but sometimes, lacking protein, switches to small mammals, bird eggs, bee honey, and occasionally can not disdain carrion. In addition to leaves, stems and bamboo shoots, pandas adore the bark of trees, edible roots, flowers and ordinary grass. What do pandas eat yet? Chinese zoologists have noticed that sometimes bulbous plants, wood mushrooms, insect larvae and small rodents sometimes fall into their natural diet.
Panda's daily diet
It consists almost one hundred percent of bamboo. Moreover, adults mainly eat young shoots and leaves of this tree. It takes them up to 14 hours a day to feed, during which time one animal manages to absorb up to 20 kilograms of this plant. What do pandas eat? Bamboo is the main food of these cute little animals, which is a definite problem for the countries where it lives. So, for example, in China there are about 300 species of this plant, and pandas eat only 15 varieties. Thus, they systematically destroy them. New, nutritious plants that replace the ones eaten appear very slowly. In order for the animal not to die of hunger, at least two different types of bamboo must grow in their habitats. Many are interested in the question of whether the panda eats eucalyptus or not. So, she does not eat eucalyptus.
Water
All living things on earth need water, pandas are no exception. They try to live close to its source. Pandas are rather slow, and long transitions to a watering place take away a lot of energy from them. Therefore, they settle in pairs in places where bamboo grows, no further than 8 kilometers from the source of water. The physiological characteristics of the animal are arranged so that it is enough to drink it once a day.
How do pandas feed
How and what do pandas eat? These animals feed sitting, due to the unique structure of their forepaws. On the wrist they have a bone that resembles a thumb on a person’s hand. This bone is very flexible, it makes it possible to grab the bamboo branches with a “finger” and send them into the mouth. The body of the panda assimilates up to 20 percent of the plant eaten. The animal consciously chooses exclusively the most delicious and nutritious parts of the branches, eats a lot and fast enough. A daily amount of food equal to 15 percent of its own weight can be consumed. Science knows cases where a “teddy” bear ate in one sitting about 40 kilograms of young shoots. What do pandas eat other than bamboo? If, when migrating, the panda does not find a bamboo grove, then it can eat anything, even small mammals. If it’s really tight, it won’t pass and fell by. Individuals who live in captivity (zoo, nursery, circus) also eat ordinary human food, such as various cereals, special biscuits consisting of fiber, carrots, apples, sweet potatoes.
What do pandas eat adults? Young individuals prefer fresh, newly emerged bamboo shoots, adults eat everything in a row, without choosing the soft parts of the plant.
Panda digestion system
If we compare the digestive system of a panda, for example, with that of
ungulates, then in the latter it consists of a long intestine, a two-chamber stomach with a complex structure. They contain special bacteria that provide the cellulose fermentation process. Nothing of the kind is observed in the body of pandas, since their ancestors are predatory animals. The stomach and digestive tract are covered with a layer of elastic thick mucous tissue that protects against sharp chips of eaten bamboo. Only 20% of the food is absorbed by the body of the total mass eaten. The animal compensates for the low level of efficiency of its nutrition by lengthening the time it spends on feeding. And it receives the missing nutrients from protein (animal) food.
Pandas are called bamboo bears because of their attachment to bamboo food. Now it is an almost extinct species listed in the Red Book. Scientists and zoologists are trying to revive the population by creating nurseries and releasing young individuals into the wild in conservation zones. In nature, pandas are preserved only in China and some parts of Laos and Malaysia. In the PRC, population growth is taken care of at the government level.