Mammals
Introduction
Mammals belong to the class Mammalia. Humans belong to this group as well as many other animals like dolphins, whales, bears, and dogs. All mammals have fur or hair covering their bodies, and they also have teeth for chewing and eating food. Mammals have complete digestive systems that include two openings, a mouth and an anus. They also have a complex nervous system that includes a brain. The most important characteristic of mammals is that they all have mammary glands. Mammary glands are produce milk to feed young mammals. Most mammals give live birth, but only a few species lay eggs, like the duck-billed platypus.
Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
The giant panda is a black-and-white bear that is known for eating huge amounts of bamboo. While these solitary creatures look cute and cuddly, they are actually as dangerous as any other bear in the wild. Giant pandas are about the size of an American black bear. They stand between two and three feet at the shoulder on all four legs and reach four to six feet long. Males are significantly larger that females and can weigh up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females barely reach 220 pounds. These bears are placed on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species. Unfortunately, there are only about 1,600 left in the wild. There are about 300 in zoos and breeding centers, mostly in China. Although pandas are solitary, adult pandas communicate with each other sometimes by scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings.
Reproduction
Giant pandas usually reach sexual maturity between four and eight years of age. Female pandas only ovulate once a year in the springtime. The brief period of the two days near ovulation is the only time when the female can conceive. Scent markings and calls are what attracts males and females to each other. The gestation period is 95 to 160, and the female can give birth to two cubs, but usually only one is able to survive. Baby pandas must stay with their mother for at least three years before they are able to live out on their own. A female panda could, at best, successfully raise only five or cubs during her lifetime.
Habitat/Location
The only places to find wild giant pandas is in the remote, mountainous regions of central China. Specifically speaking, they are found in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. Giant pandas once lived in the lowlands, but due to farming, cleared forests, and other developments, pandas have been forced to move into the mountains. Their habitat consists of broad-leaf and coniferous forests along with dense bamboo. The elevation is somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level. It is often rainy and misty throughout the year in the forests.
Eating Habits
Giant pandas eat massive amounts of bamboo daily. They eat half the day and relieve themselves dozens of times as well. Giant pandas eat a whopping 20-40 pounds of bamboo a day to get all of the necessary nutrients it needs. Their diet is strictly 99% bamboo, but pandas are also omnivores just like us and sometimes eat small rodents and birds and sometimes other grasses. Pandas often eat in a relaxed sitting position with their hind legs stretched out in front of them. Pandas also get much of its water from the bamboo stalks because bamboo's contents are half water. A typical panda spends most of its day feeding, finding food, and resting.
Mammals belong to the class Mammalia. Humans belong to this group as well as many other animals like dolphins, whales, bears, and dogs. All mammals have fur or hair covering their bodies, and they also have teeth for chewing and eating food. Mammals have complete digestive systems that include two openings, a mouth and an anus. They also have a complex nervous system that includes a brain. The most important characteristic of mammals is that they all have mammary glands. Mammary glands are produce milk to feed young mammals. Most mammals give live birth, but only a few species lay eggs, like the duck-billed platypus.
Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
The giant panda is a black-and-white bear that is known for eating huge amounts of bamboo. While these solitary creatures look cute and cuddly, they are actually as dangerous as any other bear in the wild. Giant pandas are about the size of an American black bear. They stand between two and three feet at the shoulder on all four legs and reach four to six feet long. Males are significantly larger that females and can weigh up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females barely reach 220 pounds. These bears are placed on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species. Unfortunately, there are only about 1,600 left in the wild. There are about 300 in zoos and breeding centers, mostly in China. Although pandas are solitary, adult pandas communicate with each other sometimes by scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings.
Reproduction
Giant pandas usually reach sexual maturity between four and eight years of age. Female pandas only ovulate once a year in the springtime. The brief period of the two days near ovulation is the only time when the female can conceive. Scent markings and calls are what attracts males and females to each other. The gestation period is 95 to 160, and the female can give birth to two cubs, but usually only one is able to survive. Baby pandas must stay with their mother for at least three years before they are able to live out on their own. A female panda could, at best, successfully raise only five or cubs during her lifetime.
Habitat/Location
The only places to find wild giant pandas is in the remote, mountainous regions of central China. Specifically speaking, they are found in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. Giant pandas once lived in the lowlands, but due to farming, cleared forests, and other developments, pandas have been forced to move into the mountains. Their habitat consists of broad-leaf and coniferous forests along with dense bamboo. The elevation is somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level. It is often rainy and misty throughout the year in the forests.
Eating Habits
Giant pandas eat massive amounts of bamboo daily. They eat half the day and relieve themselves dozens of times as well. Giant pandas eat a whopping 20-40 pounds of bamboo a day to get all of the necessary nutrients it needs. Their diet is strictly 99% bamboo, but pandas are also omnivores just like us and sometimes eat small rodents and birds and sometimes other grasses. Pandas often eat in a relaxed sitting position with their hind legs stretched out in front of them. Pandas also get much of its water from the bamboo stalks because bamboo's contents are half water. A typical panda spends most of its day feeding, finding food, and resting.
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