Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Group: Mammals
The giant panda is an extremely rare animal found mainly in the Western Szechwan province of southwest China. The giant panda can weigh from 165 to 330 lb. The head and body of the panda is mainly white with the exception of its ears, eye patches, nose, shoulders, arms, and legs. The giant pandas eyes are very small and its vision is poor. Enlarged bones in its wrists allow it to grip bamboo stems.
Giant pandas eat mostly bamboo leaves and shoots. But they can also eat fruit and berries, fungi, grass, and even small mammals, birds and fish. Pandas live alone most of their lives, only coming together when it is time to mate. Females give birth to cubs that are hairless and blind and weigh only 100g. Cubs depend on their mothers for about 18 months, and then it is time to find and establish its own territory. They use their scent glands beneath their tails for marking territory.
