Myfavouriteanimal--panda

　　Ifyouaskmewhatmyfavouriteanimal.Icantellyou"pandasaremyfavourite."IlikethepandasnotonlybecausetheyareoneoftheChina'streasures,butalsobecausetheylookscute.

　　Pandasareveryfatandhairy.Theyhavetwocolours:whiteandblack.Thepanda'sdface,backandstomachareallwhite,theireyesnoselegsandarmsareallblack.

　　Thepandaslikeeatingbamboo.Usingthepaws,hechewthebambooveryslowlywithhismouth.

　　TherearetwopandascalledtuantuanandyuanyuanwillsendtoTaiwan.

　　【GiantPanda】

　　STATUS:

　　Endangered

　　DESCRIPTION:

　　Pandasarefamousfortheirblackandwhitemarkings.Thelegs,shoulders,earsandovalpatchesaroundtheeyesareblack,andtherestofthecoatiswhite.Goodtreeclimbers,pandascanalsoswimtoescapepredators.Pandasuseanenlargedwristbonethatlookslikeathumbtograspobjectslikebamboo.Scientistsdisagreeaboutwhetherthegiantpandaiscloselyrelatedtobearsorraccoonsorisseparatefromboth.

　　SIZE:

　　Pandasweighanaverageof200to300poundsandreachsixfeetinlength.

　　POPULATION:

　　Only1,000pandasexistinthewildand60inzoos.

　　LIFESPAN:

　　Thepanda?slifespaninthewildisunknownbutincaptivityaveragesmorethan20years.

　　RANGE:

　　TheshrinkingrangeofthepandaislimitedtopartsofSzechuan,ShensiandKansuprovincesincentralandwesternChina.

　　HABITAT:

　　Thepandalivesinthickbambooandconiferousforests(evergreenswithseedcones)at8,500to11,500feetelevation.

　　FOOD:

　　Pandasfeedmostlyonbamboo,atallwoodyplantfulloffiber.Thepanda?sdigestivesystemdoesnotabsorbthefiber,soitmusteatalot.Pandasalsoeatflowers,vines,tuftedgrasses,greencorn,honeyandrodents.

　　BEHAVIOR:

　　Thesesolitaryanimalsspendmostoftheirdaysfeeding.Althoughtheyliveincoldforests,pandasdonothibernate.Theymovetolowerelevationsduringwintertokeepwarmandtohigherelevationsinsummertostaycool.Theydonothavepermanenthomesbutsleepatthebottomoftreesandunderstumpsandrockledges.

　　OFFSPRING:

　　Afteragestationperiodof125to150days,amotherpandagivesbirthtooneortwoyoung,butonlyonesurvives.Eyesopenatsixtoeightweeks,andthecubstartstomovearoundatthreemonths.Weanedatsixmonths,thecubbecomesindependentafterayear.

　　THREATS:

　　Habitatlosstoincreasinghumanpopulations;poaching;periodicbamboodie-offs.

　　PROTECTION:

　　*CitesAppendixI,EndangeredSpeciesAct

　　*ConventiononInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesofWildFaunaandFlora,aninternationaltreatywithmorethan144membercountries.AppendixIlistedspeciescannotbetradedcommercially.AppendixIIlistedspeciescanbetradedcommerciallyonlyifitdoesnotharmtheirsurvival.