Panda Explorers. By Seba!iano. D'Ambrosio. A guide to learn about pandas

Transcription

1 Panda Explorers A guide to learn about pandas By Seba!iano D'Ambrosio

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3 Table of contents Introduction 1 Where in the world 2-3 What's for dinner 4-5 Body parts 6-7 Life cycle 8-9 Conclusion 10 Glossary 11 Bibliography 12

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5 Introduction If you've been to China there lies an animal. It's black and white also fuzzy. If you guessed panda, correct, they live in the mountains and eat bamboo with strong chewing muscles and strong teeth. Pack your bags were are going to China. 1

6 Where in the world You need to cross almost half the world and land in china then cross the mountains of west central china to just get a glimpse of a giant panda. Did you know there are a about 1,000 to 1,600 pandas left in the world. According to panda expert Malcolm Penny adults area is about 1.5 to 2.5 square miles. In the winter the area gets to a shivering 19F and in summer it gets to 68F. Did you know the air is very thin so panda blood carries extra oxygen? Down the mountain where the forest is thicker there are dense clumps of bamboo up to 10 feet tall. That's how pandas feel about there homes. 2

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8 What's For Dinner In the mountains grows a green plant called bamboo that's what a panda eat. According to amazing animals of the world "pandas eat for 16 hours a day". Pandas have strong and special jaws to crush strong bamboo. If you try to eat bamboo your teeth will fall right out of your mouth. According to animal fact guide pandas will also eat small rodents, eggs, fish and flora plus mice, lizards, cockroaches, mushrooms, honey, flowers and road worms. Pandas have a special way of eating they sit up straight and keep their front paws free to hold the bamboo and pluck off shoots and leaves. According to world book pandas eat 85 pounds of food a day. That's as much as a human child. Bamboo can also be made into bicycles and flutes also pots and many more objects when pandas aren't eating it. 4

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10 Body parts First in the body is the head. The skull has very heavy powerful chewing muscles that operate the strong jaws that are anchored to the check bone. They also have sensitive eyes and vertical pupils that give it good night vision. Pandas have no shearing or incisor teeth for slicing through flesh. According to Malcolm Penny, "Most of its teeth are molders to grind up tough bamboo." Pandas have large canine teeth which it can defend it self with. Its sturdy legs carry the weight of the pandas body. Pandas have pads on the claws that improve their grip. The feet are covered with thick hairs, which help pandas walk over snow and ice. Lastly the front paws the wrist bone of each front paw is enlarged to form a false thumb. It grips bamboo by pressing its first two claws against its false thumb. 6

11 Diagram of panda body 7

12 Life cycle Ever wonder what a pandas life cycle is? First it starts with the baby. Pandas give birth to a liter of about 2 or 3 cubs at a time. They are about the size of rats and are pink and blind. Usually only about one will survive. The first there weeks the cubs stay cradled by its mother. At 6 to 8 weeks it opens its eyes and at 2 to 3 months the cub can crawl it's starting to turn into a real panda. At 4 months the cub can walk on its own it will not be weaned until 8 months old. The cub stays with its mom until it's 18 months. At 3 it will have reached its full size and will be completely independent. It's the full size. Female pandas are ready to breed at 4 to 5 years and males 6 to 7 years. In captivity pandas can live for 30 years but in the wild they only live to 20 years. 8

13 Panda life cycle 9

14 Conclusion So after our adventure you now know how a panda eats and where it is in the world so when never your teacher gives you a quiz on pandas you will be a expert like me. 10

15 Glossary Square mile - a mile in a square Bamboo - a green tough plant that grows in china Flora - flowers Rodents - small animals that live in dry places False thumb-extended wrist bone Weaned- when it stops sucking Liter- a certain amount of cubs 11

16 Bibliography Books Giant Panda Malcolm Penny 2000 Amazing animals Pandas Susan Kueffner 2009 Amazing animals of the world Grolier Education corporation 1995 Websites Giant panda Bear Facts Endangered Animals giant-panda Encyclopedic Panda World book World book 2/4/15 Panda Britannica Britannica 3/14/15 Google images 12

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