Where do giant pandas live?

Elizabeth from the United States wrote:
Where do giant pandas live?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Elizabeth.

Giant pandas live in a few isolated mountain ranges in the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu in south-central China. They live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 1,500 m and 3,000 m. Torrential rains, dense mists, and heavy cloud cover characterize these forests throughout much of the year. The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.

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GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

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How much bamboo do pandas eat each day?

How much bamboo do pandas eat a day?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Marisca,

Bamboo is the giant panda's favorite food. Adult giant pandas will spend 10 to 16 hours a day finding and eating bamboo. They eat different parts of the plant depending on the time of year. In the summer and autumn, pandas munch mostly on leaves. Winter means a diet of tough stems. Spring provides tender, young bamboo shoots.

A giant panda’s digestive system is similar to that of a carnivore rather than an herbivore. Because bamboo does not provide much nutrition, a panda needs to eat a large amount of food. It may eat up to 20 kg of bamboo each day to get all the nutrients it needs.


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GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

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Marisca from South Africa wrote:

How do hibernating animals survive in winter?

Thivanks from Fiji wrote:
How do hybernating animals survive in winter?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Thivanka.

That's a great question, because it's kind of hard to imagine how hibernating animals survive the winter.

When animals hibernate, they sleep through the winter to avoid the cold weather and save energy. During the fall, animals that hibernate eat A LOT and gain lots of weight as fat. As winter approaches, the animals find a suitable place to hibernate. During hibernation they live off their body fat as they sleep for several day or weeks. The animals' breathing and heart beats slow down and usually their body temperatures drop to match the temperatures outside. Examples of hibernating animals are bears, frogs, bats, & raccoons.

To be more specific, the black bear is a good example of an animal that hibernates in winter. Black bears eat more than usual in the fall and can gain as much as 30 pounds per week. They also gather leaves, grass, and twigs to make warm beds. They use these beds to sleep on in dens, burrows, caves, hollowed-out trees, or rock crevices. While hibernating, their body temperatures can drop from a typical 99-101 degrees Fahrenheit to 88-95 degrees. A black bear's heartbeat also goes down from 60 to 90 times per minute to as few as 8 to 40 beats per minute. The black bear can go as long as 100 days without eating, drinking, urinating, or exercising while in the hibernation state.

Non-hibernating animals migrate or adapt to survive harsh, cold weather in winter.

I hope that information is helpful!

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

Pandas

Haley from United States wrote:
Where do pandas live?


GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Haley,

There are two types of pandas - Giant pandas and Red pandas. Both types of pandas live in the mountain forests of southwest China. Red pandas also live in the mountain countries of the Himalayas - Nepal, Bhutan, India, Burma and Tibet.

For more about pandas look in Glossopedia by clicking on the two pictures below.

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GLOBIO Traveling Teacher

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What Are Polar Bears Like?

Swaathy from Canada wrote:
What are some general and specific charecteristic of a polar bear?

GLOBIO Traveling Teacher says:

Hi Swaathy,

Here are some interesting FastFACTS about the polar bear.

1) The polar bear or the sea/ice bear are the world's largest land predators. They can be found in the Arctic, the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), and Norway.
2) About 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the Arctic.
3) All countries either banned hunting or established rules for how many polar bears could be hunted within it's own boundaries.
4) Male polar bears may grow over 3 meters (10 feet tall) and weigh over 635 kg (1400 lbs). Females reach 2 meters (7 ft) and weigh 295 kgs (650 lbs).
5) In the wild polar bears live up to age 25.
6) Polar bears have been known to swim over 162 kilometers (100 miles) at a stretch.
7) Humans are the polar bears' only predator.
8) Polar bear babies (cubs) weigh less than .5 kg (1 pound) when born - usually a mother bear has two cubs.

Hope those facts help.

Thanks for the great question,
GLOBIO Traveling Teacher