Giant Pandas
Research and Lessons Hopefully, you'll be able to find answers/information for the mini-books from books you check out from the library. However, if you aren't able to get any books about giant pandas, or if you are unable to locate certain information to complete a mini-book, you should find it below. Brown Bears vs. Panda Bears Venn Diagram characteristics unique to panda bears *cat-like eyes (with slits) *front paws have an opposable thumb Panda bears can't do some things that other bears do including walking on their hind legs and roaring. Giant pandas are similar to other bears in their general looks, the way they walk and climb, and their skull characteristics. Question Answer Matchbooks 1. What do the Chinese call Pandas? "large bear-cats" 2. How many hours each day does a Panda eat? 12! 3. What is a panda's habitat like? damp, misty forests of bamboo and conifers, in altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) Panda Family Female pandas are called sows, males are called boars, and the young are called cubs. Panda Anatomy (see Panda Information at Enchanted Learning) Range In the wild, giant pandas only live in six small forest fragments found in mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Classification Kingdom Animalia (the animals)
Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones) Class Mammalia (warm-blooded animals with hair and mammary glands) Order Carnivora Family Ursidae (Bears) Genus and Species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning "cat feet black white" Let's Make Some Noise! Pandas have eleven different calls. They make a bleating sound similar to the sound a lamb or a goat kid would make. It's a friendly sound, a greeting. They also honk, huff, bark, and growl; young cubs croak and squeal. Numbers There are roughly 1,000-1,500 pandas living in the wild (in China). There are about 120 living in zoos and breeding centers around the world. Endangerment Reasons why pandas are in danger of extinction: 1. Low reproductive rate Pandas like to be by themselves most of the year, and they have a very short breeding season when a male will look for a female to mate with. Females give birth to one or two cubs, which are very dependent on their mothers during the first few years of life. In the wild, mother pandas will care for only one of the young. In panda facilities in China, keepers help to hand raise any twin cubs. One baby is left with the mother and the keepers switch the twins every few days so each one gets care and milk directly from the mother. 2. Bamboo shortages When bamboo plants reach maturity, they flower and produce seeds, and then the mature plant dies. The seeds grow slowly into plants large enough for pandas to eat. Giant pandas can eat 25 different types of bamboo, but they usually eat only the 4 or 5 kinds that grow in their home range. The unusual thing about bamboo is that all of the plants of one species growing in an area will bloom and die at the same time. When those plants die, pandas move to another area. But now, with humans taking up much of the panda s habitat, pandas are often unable to move to another area and may face starvation. 3. Habitat destruction China has more than one billion people. As people build more cities and farms and use more natural resources, giant pandas lose their
homes. 4. Hunting When hunters set snares for other animals, like musk deer, the traps often kill pandas instead. Baby Giant Pandas Other than marsupials, they are the smallest newborn mammal. Little giant pandas are white and about the size of a stick of butter at birth weighing 4-6 ounces (lighter than an apple!), and they're hairless and helpless. The panda mother gives great care to her tiny cub, usually cradling it in one paw and holding it close to her chest. For several days after birth, the mother does not leave the den, not even to eat or drink! Even though a cub receives great care, many young pandas do not survive. Birth- cry when they are hungry or need care One Month old- their coats take on adult coloring Six-Seven Weeks Old- their eyes open Three Months Old- they follow their mother Six Months Old- they begin eating bamboo Nine Months Old- they are weaned from mother's milk Panda cubs grow very slowly. They stay with their mother for one to two years. They are fully grown in 2-4 years. Diet Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears which includes (almost exclusively) two types of bamboo (arrow and umbrella). In order to survive, a panda needs 40-80 pounds of food each day! This is due to the fact that bamboo is low in nutrition. Bamboo is also hard to digest. A giant panda's throat and stomach have tough linings to protect them from the toughness of the bamboo. Other than bamboo, giant pandas also eat grasses, bulbs, fruit, some insects, rodents, and carrion. At zoos, pandas are offered bamboo, carrots, yams, and special leaf eater biscuits made of grain and packed with vitamins and minerals. Answers for Comparison Book (panda answers provided) 1. bamboo 2. less than a pound (or 4-8 ounces)
3. 35 years old 4. apple 5. about 1,500 6. 12 Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use. Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. Homeschool Share
Cut book out as one piece. Fold each triangle under. Lift and write an explanation of each reason. When you are finished, you should fold the book in half (on the solid black center line) and paste the back of the book into your lapbook. Use answers provided on next page for a younger student to cut/paste under the triangles, if desired. Bamboo Shortages Hunting Habitat Destruction Low Reproductive Rate
As people build more cities and farms and use more natural resources, giant pandas lose their homes. Females only give birth to one or two cubs at a time. The mother (in the wild will only take care of only one of the young. All the bamboo in one area blooms and dies at the same time leaving the panda without any food. Pandas don t have anywhere to go to find bamboo since so much of their habitat has been destroyed. When hunters set snares for other animals the traps often kill pandas instead.
Directions: Pandas live in Asia in the country of China. Find China on the map of Asia and color it. Cut out cover piece on this page. Cut out book on next page as one piece. Fold in half. Glue cover piece on the front. Where in the World Can I Find a Giant Panda?
Kingdom Phylum Subphylum Class Order Family Genus & Species Cut book out on solid lines. Fold on dotted. Glue the back of the flap book down to the inside of the cover book. Let your student write the correct classification information behind each flap.
Giant Panda Classification Information
Fold paper in half on dotted line. Cut around panda bear shape. Use shape book to record information about the sounds that panda bears make.
My Story
Cut books out. Fold matchbook style. What do the Chinese people call pandas? How many hours each day does a panda eat?
What is a panda s habitat like?
coloring Anatomy eyes size
Cut out all the shapes (seven total). Let your student record information about as many different aspects of the panda s anatomy as you desire. When finished, stack together with cover ( Anatomy ) on top and attach a brass fastener where indicated. If you don t have a brass fastener, you can simply use a staple. paws teeth fur
coloring Anatomy eyes size
Cut out all the shapes (seven total). Let your student record information about as many different aspects of the panda s anatomy as you desire. When finished, stack together with cover ( Anatomy ) on top and attach a brass fastener where indicated. paws If you don t have a brass fastener, you can simply use a staple. teeth fur
Cut book out on solid lines. Fold on dotted. Write answers under flaps. How many Giant Pandas are living in zoos? How many Giant Pandas are living in the wild? How many Giant Pandas are living in the world?
Cut out book as one piece. Fold in half. Record information about the giant panda s diet in the book.
Cut book on this page out as one piece. Fold in half. Cut books (3) on the next page out by cutting on the solid black lines. Let your student write the name for each giant panda family member in the appropriate book. Fold books in half. Paste into the big book Family Names
Father Mother Baby
Cut book out as one piece (do not cut shapes apart). Fold in thirds with the panda on the cover. On the inside of the book write K on the left side, W on the middle, and L on the left. Before you start the unit, record what your student KNOWS on the K page. Ask your student what he WANTS TO LEARN and record that on the W page. At the end of the unit, record what your student has LEARNED on the L page.
Cut out book as one piece. Fold in half on the black line. Cut on the dotted lines to form three flaps. Write information that is unique to the brown bear under the left flap, information unique to the giant panda bear under the right flap, and information true about both animals under the middle flap. both brown bear panda bear
Cub Facts
Cut book out as one piece. Fold in half. Cut on dotted lines to form flaps. Cut out cover on the previous page as one piece. Fold in half. Glue the back of the flap book down to the inside of the cover book. Let your student write the correct information about baby pandas behind each flap. Newborn 1 month old 6-7 weeks old 3 months old 6 months old 9 months old
Glue this side to the back of the last page on the first strip
Glue this side to the back of the last page on the second strip Cut out the three strips. Glue as indicated so that you have one long line. Fold accordion style (back and forth, back and forth). Attach a piece of yard or ribbon around the book and tie it in a bow on the front. Glue the back down to your lapbook. Your student can open/close the book by tying/untying the string. It will pull out like an accordion.