Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing pandas. Also known as the giant panda, these bears are perhaps the best known animals for conservation. For a long time pandas were listed as endangered to extinction; currently, they’ve been moved from endangered to vulnerable, meaning conservation efforts have helped secure the future for this species, though they’re not out of the woods, yet! There are estimated to be fewer than 2,000 pandas living in the wild as of this recording.

Pandas are endemic to central China and currently exist in fragmented populations and habitats. Pandas spend most of their time on the ground but they’re also able to climb trees and can swim! Their habitats include mountainous forests where bamboo is present. For a long time their classification was disputed.

They look like bears but have a strange thumb-like structure to help them hold bamboo.This structure is not present in other bears and bamboo is a curious food source for carnivores. Originally believed to be more closely related to red pandas because they had a similar diet, giant pandas were named after red pandas!

Pandas are some of the only carnivores that have adapted to an almost entirely vegetarian diet. That being said, they still have the digestive system of carnivores, so they can’t get much nutrition from the bamboo they consume. Less than 20% of what they eat provides the bears nutrition, meaning in order to meet their dietary requirements, pandas have to eat a lot! Pandas spend upwards of 14 hours a day eating during twilight hours and spend the rest of their time sleeping. In fact, they’re so big on conserving energy, they rarely travel! Plus, with all that food going in, they have a lot coming out. These bears can poop upwards of 100 times a day, and even do number two while napping!

Pandas can also eat other plants, fruits, insects, and may occasionally take small mammals, however, it’s been observed that the gene that recognizes the umami flavor in meat has been repressed in pandas meaning they can’t really taste meat - so it’s no wonder they don’t really eat it!

In contrast to most other bears, pandas don’t undergo a state of low activity during the year, sometimes called hibernation, though like we discussed in our bear episode that term being used for bears is debated. Pandas are also on the smaller side of the bear scale averaging about 225 pounds (102kg) in weight. For comparison, these bears are about the same size as the American black bear. What’s amazing is that panda babies only weigh about 100 grams when they’re born!

Pandas are relatively solitary, but do come together for the mating season from march to may. Females become more vocal and scent mark to let males in the area know they’re ready to mate. Mating is a quick process and the male leaves shortly after. Gestation in pandas takes anywhere from 84 to 184 days because they may delay implantation of their eggs in order to give birth at a more opulent time for food resources.

Pandas typically have twins, but in the wild the mother stops caring for one baby which then perishes. The surviving baby may remain with its mother for 18 months before setting off on its own. Adult pandas are safe from harm apart from anthropogenic threats including habitat loss and poaching, though conservation efforts have helped reduce poaching kills. Baby pandas may be predated by martens, weasels, and wild cats. There’s thought that pandas may be black and white to help break up their outline in a forest thus giving them greater protection against predators. In the wild, pandas live about 20 years.

For more facts on giant pandas, check out the links in the description. Thank you to dan, gregory, shane, and tiffany for today’s request! Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!