They are difficult to census in the wild, but scientists believe there are about 1, remaining in the wild. These individuals live in scattered populations in central China, mostly in Sichuan Province, but also in Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces.
Giant pandas specialize in eating bamboo, so if the temperate bamboo forests in the mountains of central China continue to be cut down, there will be no room for giant pandas in the wild. This is why it is so crucial to support conservation research in China, and why there needs to be a population of giant pandas in zoos as an insurance policy against extinction.
The giant panda is a member of the bear family, which scientists call the Ursidae. Among the bears, it is most closely related to the spectacled bear of South America.
The red panda , sometimes called the lesser panda, is a raccoon-sized mammal that lives in the same kind of habitat as giant pandas but ranges over a larger area in Asia. Its fur is a reddish color, and it eats bamboo. Red pandas are not related to giant pandas. Panda gestation length ranges from 90 to days, with an average pregnancy lasting days.
This wide variation in gestation occurs because the fertilized egg usually floats freely in the mother's uterus before it implants and begins developing. Once the embryo is attached to the uterine wall, its development continues until a panda is born; newborn pandas are blind, very small and without almost any fur. A newborn panda weighs about 3 to 5 ounces. In American black bears, the actual period of time that the embryo develops following implantation is about eight weeks.
For pandas, actual development time is probably similar. Much of a panda's physical development occurs after birth. Pandas are solitary animals, but they vocalize extensively during social interactions. They "chirp" during mating and "honk" in distress. A "bleat" a twittering goat sound is a friendly contact call.
A "chomp" a rapid opening and closing of the mouth so the teeth audibly meet is a mild defensive threat. A "bark" is used to scare an enemy. A "squeal" indicates submission or pain. The Smithsonian's National Zoo's website has plenty of information about visiting the Zoo , including hours, parking, transportation, driving instructions and more.
Visitors are able to visit the pandas virtually through the Zoo's Panda Cam. The cams offer live, streaming video of the pandas. Many people volunteer at the Zoo. For complete information, including whom to contact, read about volunteering with the Zoo. Students are encouraged to look through the giant panda page to find answers to their report questions.
All of the Smithsonian's National Zoo's information on giant pandas is located on this website. The Zoo has no additional information to send. The public voted on Xiao Qi Ji's name back in November. When Xiao Qi Ji is four years old, he will fly to China and join his three siblings named Bei Bei, Bao Bao and Tai Shan to participate in a breeding program to revitalize the giant panda population in their native land. Over the past nine months, Xiao Qi Ji has grown to weigh 45 pounds and is on track with learning behaviors that will eventually allow him to take care of himself without the help of his mother.
The cub his Mandarin name is pronounced SHIAU-chi-ji weighs about 45 pounds, zookeepers say, a long ways from the tiny, squealing "stick of butter," as cubs are called at birth. Zoo spokesperson Pamela Baker-Masson said she met visitors Friday from North Carolina and others from Pittsburgh who trekked just to see the giant pandas, in addition to their regulars. The public got to pick Xiao Qi Ji's name back in November and, as part of a cooperative agreement with China to breed the "vulnerable" species in their native land, he will be returned there when he's 4 years old to join his three siblings: Bei Bei, Bao Bao and Tai Shan.
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