Watch and listen to these baby Panda’s cry out for attention. They just want a hug!
Since 1990, Pandas have been on the endangered list. Due mainly to loss of habitat, only 1,000 were left in the world in 2015. Thankfully, The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced in September of 2016 that the pandas official status had changed from near extinction to an upward population change of 17%, removing them from the endangered species list. That’s great news!
The IUCN) believes the more educated people are about pandas, the more likely they will be to keep them off of that endangered list. In that spirit of preservation, here are a few things you may not have known about these lovable creatures.
Scroll below for 15 fun and interesting facts that will inspire you to help save this amazing animal from going extinct. These facts come directly from the World Wildlife Federation.
1. A Panda’s diet consists of 99% bamboo.
2. When giving birth, a mother panda is 900 times larger than her cub.
3. Pandas have lived on Earth for 2 to 3 million years.
4. Female pandas ovulate only once a year and are fertile only two or three days out of the year.
5. Female cubs become adults at about 5 years of age, whereas male cubs don’t become adults until around 7-years-old.
6. A panda can spend 14-16 hours a day eating bamboo.
7. An adult giant panda can weigh anywhere between 200-300lbs.
8. A panda’s hair is thick and wiry and can grow up to four inches
9. Giant pandas do not hibernate because their bamboo diets do not allow them to store enough fat reserves for the winter.
10. Most of the food a panda eats is not digested. For this reason, they can produce up to 62lbs. of droppings a day.
11. In China, pandas are considered national treasures.
12. Because pandas are so large, they do not have natural predators. However, snow leopards will prey on vulnerable panda cubs.
13. Pandas’ paws have something very close to a thumb which they use to hold bamboo stalks.
14. Giant pandas have a great sense of smell. Even at night, they can find the best bamboo stalks by scent.
15. Pandas eat sitting down.
