Posted: November 9th, 2022

Giant Panda

Giant Panda
The Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is a cat-looking bear with black-and-white fur and originated from China. It belongs to the Animal Kindom, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Ursidae, and Species Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Hansen et al., 2010). According to O’Brien et al. (1985), most scholars and researchers have disagreed on Panda’s classification order because it does not belong to the same family as raccoons and bears. The Pandas have strong jaws and spend most of their time eating the bamboo. A study conducted by Hansen et al. (2010) showed that Panda is a carnivore but feeds exclusively on bamboo. Panda fur helps keep warm and keep away from predators. It also has strong enamel, crawls for accessing food.
Panda has a bulky body covered with soft thick fur to suit its habitat. The Panda resides in remote and mountainous areas in central China. The color of the skin helps it to hide from predators because it camouflages with the white snow. The species thrive in cool and wet regions, and the high bamboo forests provide a suitable habitat (Weng et al., 2016). The giant Panda has black-and-white fur. The overall body shape resembles that of a bear, but it has distinguishing characteristics such as black fur on the eye patches, legs, ears, shoulders, muzzle, and arms. Animals that are often classified to belong to the same family as pandas have one color skin. Pandas’ coloring helps them to disguise in their shade-dappled white and rocky regions. Moreover, its wool is thick and wooly to keep it warm in cold habitats.
Behavioral studies have revealed that the giant panda habitat is a function of elevation, slope, forest cover, understory bamboo (Linderman et al., 2005). When feeding, the pandas climb up to 13,000 high in such food (Linderman et al., 2005). They eat between 12 and 14 hours per day in a relaxed posture and can sometimes climb trees or swim to look for food. Bamboo stems are very stiff and can be strong for animals to chew (Weng et al., 2016). The tooth enamel (the outermost layer of a tooth crown) of giant Panda is strong and possesses mechanical features that remain intact under direct effect during mastication.
The pandas move by walking and have sharp claws that help them climb on trees (Hansen et al., 2010). Moreover, the Panda is an ambitious animal, a character demonstrated by the aggression in their eyes. The Panda believes that they can conquer everything, and the large size of their bodies does not hinder them. Pandas live in old-growth forests with nutritious brushwood bamboo on a gentle slope with a stream nearby because they take a lot of water to avoid the indigestion of the paste. The skull of the Panda shows that it has evolved from the durophagous carnivorans. The permanent teeth start to row at the age of seven months old when the baby panda is shown how to search for food by the mother. The back teeth have a wide surface area and strong jawbones to crush the bamboo shoots. It also has larger molars and enhanced temporal fossa. Pandas eat other types of food such as fish and yams in the forest. They use their long crawls to retrieved yams from soil (Hansen et al., 2010). Moreover, panda size allows it to swim as it looks for fish for food. They also feed on different types of plants to acquire nutrients and vitamins from vast sources.
A study conducted by Swaisgood et al. (2003) demonstrated the reproductive and communication behaviors of giant pandas. The experiment used chemo-signals, and the results showed that pandas have a unique chemical communication system, individual identity, and reproductive status. Giant pandas live in solitary and only live together when mating. Swaisgood et al. (2003) found that the animals communicate through scent and sound. Scent plays a critical role in sexual motivation. Pandas breed naturally in a proper behavioral environment but will show interest in stressing and uncomfortable habitants. Human interference has disrupted pandas’ habitat, limiting their chances of breeding. Individuals should not inhibit the Panda’s habitat because they become disintegrated, and their chances of breeding become limited. Humans should respect the established laws that protect endangered species by developing other means of producing heat for cooking. The construction of roads, industries, and railways is crucial because it enhances the transport of goods and people (Zhang et al., 2015). However, these developmental and industrialization initiatives come at the expense of the species, and they may be destroyed forever. When females become pregnant, the male leaves and only comes back during breeding. The mothers closely take care of the cubs for one year before abounding them in the forest. However, they make sure to train them on various methods of accessing food.
Conclusion
Panda is an endangered animal that lives in cold and wet regions. The white and black fur is adapted for camouflage and hides from predictors. It also helps the animal to keep warm in cold mountainous regions of central China. Panda heavily depends on bamboo as the primary source of food but feeds on various types of food such as honey, fish, yams, and eggs. The enamel of the giant Panda is strong plays a significant role in oral functions, such as chewing bamboo and protects the jaw from dentin and pulp chamber from damage. Pandan leaves in solitary but come together during breeding. Panda remains endangered due to human interference. Individuals should avoid cutting through the pandas’ areas because it destroys their food and makes them migrate to unsuitable environments.
References
Hansen, R. L., Carr, M. M., Apanavicius, C. J., Jiang, P., Bissell, H. A., Gocinski, B. L., … & Kouba, A. J. (2010). Seasonal shifts in giant panda feeding behavior: relationships to bamboo plant part consumption. Zoo Biology, 29(4), 470-483.
O’brien, S. J., Nash, W. G., Wildt, D. E., Bush, M. E., & Benveniste, R. E. (1985). A molecular solution to the riddle of the giant Panda’s phylogeny. Nature, 317(6033), 140-144. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1038/317140a0.pdf
Linderman, M., Bearer, S., An, L., Tan, Y., Ouyang, Z., & Liu, J. (2005). The effects of understory bamboo on broad-scale estimates of giant panda habitat. Biological Conservation, 121(3), 383-390.
Swaisgood, R. R., Zhou, X., Zhang, G., Lindburg, D. G., & Zhang, H. (2003). Application of behavioral knowledge to conservation in the giant Panda. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 16(2). https://escholarship.org/content/qt40g5k8cq/qt40g5k8cq.pdf
Weng, Z. Y., Liu, Z. Q., Ritchie, R. O., Jiao, D., Li, D. S., Wu, H. L., … & Zhang, Z. F. (2016). Giant panda׳ s tooth enamel: Structure, mechanical behavior, and toughening mechanisms under indentation. Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials, 64, 125-138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.07.029
Zhang, J., Hull, V., Huang, J., Zhou, S., Xu, W., Yang, H., … & Liu, J. (2015). Activity patterns of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Journal of Mammalogy, 96(6), 1116-1127. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv118

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