GIANT PANDAS

BY BASHIZA NADEEM

1ST OCT,2014

INTERESTING FACTS

• THE PANDA IS CONSIDERED A NATIONAL TREASURE IN CHINA

• PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF CHINA HAVE ONLY KNOWN ABOUT PANDAS FOR MORE THAN 96 YEARS

• PANDAS CAN GROW UP TO 6 FEET LONG

• THE CHINESE NAME FOR PANDA IS DAXIONGMAO

WHY IT IS GOING EXTINCT

• THEIR NATURAL HABITAT IS BEING CUT DOWN BY HUMANS

• PANDAS STARVE TO DEARTH BECAUSE OF LACK OF BAMBOO

• FEMALE PANDAS ARE ONLY IN THEIR REPRODUCTIVE STATE FOR A LITTLE WHILE

•  PANDAS ARE SOLITARY ANIMALS EACH LIVING IN THEIR OWN TERRITORY. INDIVIDUAL PANDAS ONLY MEET UP BRIEFLY DURING THE SPRING FOR MATING.

HOW HUMANS CAN PROTECT GIANT PANDAS?

• BY MAKING STRICTER LAWS TO NOT POACH ANYMORE PANDAS

• MAKING SURE THAT WE DON’T CUT ANYMORE OF THE GIANT PANDAS HABITAT

• TO ENSURE THAT THE RESERVE BORDERS ARE PATROLLED AND NO ILLEGAL HUNTING OR LOGGING TAKES PLACE IN THE FOREST

•  COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS BUYING WOOD SAVING STOVES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE TO LIMIT THE IMPACT THAT WOOD-FUEL HARVESTING IS HAVING ON THE FORESTS

• DONATING MONEY TO PANDAS SERVICES LIKE THE WORLDS WILDLIFE FUND (WWF)

WHY HUMANS SHOULD PROTECT GIANT PANDAS?

• THEY PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE BAMBOO FORESTS WHERE THEY ROAM BY SPREADING SEEDS AND FACILITATING GREATER GROWTH OF THE VEGETATION 

• THEY BRING HUGE ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH ECOTOURISM AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

•  PANDAS HAVE ARE A VERY IMPORTANT CULTURAL ICON FOR CHINESE PEOPLE.

• THE PANDA’S HABITAT IS HOME FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

• THE RAREST MEMBER OF THE BEAR FAMILY

WHAT ANIMAL DID YOU CHOOSE

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE GIANT PANDAS?

• I CHOOSE GIANT PANDAS BECAUSE THEY’RE VERY INTRESTING TO ME

• I WANT TO FIND MORE ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND THE REASONS WHY THEY ARE GETTING EXTINCT

• THEY’RE CUTE AND BEAUTIFUL

WHAT DOES GIANT PANDA EAT?

• A WILD GIANT PANDA'S DIET IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY (99 PERCENT) BAMBOO.

• THE BALANCE CONSISTS OF OTHER GRASSES AND OCCASIONAL SMALL RODENTS OR MUSK DEER FAWNS.

• IN ZOOS, GIANT PANDAS EAT BAMBOO, SUGAR CANE, RICE GRUEL, ASPECIAL HIGH-FIBER BISCUIT, CARROTS, APPLES, AND SWEET POTATOES.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE

WHERE DOES GIANT PANDAS LIVE?

• GIANT PANDAS LIVE IN A FEW MOUNTAIN RANGES IN CENTRAL CHINA, IN SICHUAN, SHAANXI, AND GANSU PROVINCES.

• THEY ONCE LIVED IN LOWLAND AREAS, BUT FARMING, FOREST CLEARING, AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT NOW RESTRICT GIANT PANDAS TO THE MOUNTAINS.

SOME UNIQUE FEATURES OF GIANT PANDAS

• GIANT PANDAS HAVE A DISTINCTIVE APPEARANCE.

• THEY HAVE THICK BLACK AND WHITE FUR WHICH EQUIPS THEM FOR LIFE IN COOL FORESTS.

• THEIR WHITE COAT WITH BLACK MARKINGS IS UNIQUE, WITH BLACK PATCHES ROUND THE EYES AND EARS, BLACK LEGS AND A BLACK BAND AROUND THE SHOULDERS.

• GIANT PANDAS' PAWS HAVE FIVE “FINGERS” AND ONE “THUMB” – AN ENLARGED BONE AT THE HEEL OF THE PAW USED FOR GRIPPING BAMBOO, CLIMBING, ETC.

• THEY HAVE GOOD GEOGRAPHICAL MEMORY, HEARING AND SENSE OF SMELL, BUT THEIR SIGHT IS POOR.

UNIQUE FEATURES

REASONS WHY GIANT PANDAS ARE GOING EXTINCT

• DESTRUCTION OF THEIR HABITAT BY CUTTING OUT FORESTS AND BAMBOO (THEIR FOOD)

• HUNTING CAUSED MAJORITY OF PANDAS TO DIE

•  HUNTERS SEEKING OTHER ANIMALS IN PANDA HABITATS KILL PANDAS ACCIDENTALLY.

CAN ITS EXTINCTION BE PREVENTED? HOW?

• BY MAKING STRICT LAWS OF NOT DESTROYING PANDAS HABITAT

• BY GROWING MORE BAMBOO

• BY NOT HUNTING WHERE THESE ANIMALS HABITAT IS

GIANT PANDAS