Giant panda
- one of the most famous animals on our planet. But due to the fact that their number is decreasing, it.
What does it look like?
She looks like a small clumsy teddy bear. She has a white shaggy coat, and her ears, shoulders, chest and paws are black. Almost cat eyes are hidden in black ovals on her muzzle. In general, the giant panda is a very charming animal. The man fell in love with her so much that he even began to shoot cartoons with her in the title role.
Panda almost always moves on everyone four paws swaying from one side to the other. They can run, but they cannot withstand a long chase.
Where do pandas live?
And they live where it grows in large quantities them favorite treat- bamboo. These are the mountainous regions of Central and South China, in cold moist forests. Therefore, it is believed that deforestation is one of the main reasons for the decrease in their number. The giant panda is a nocturnal animal. She sleeps during the day in a secluded place, for example, in the hollow of a tree, and is awake at night.
What do they eat?
What is the panda doing at this time? She eats during her waking hours. Eating takes great place in her life. She needs this in order to maintain body weight. Despite the fact that the panda is classified as a predatory animal, it feeds mainly on bamboo: leaves, buds, stems. And plant foods are not so nutritious, so about 16 hours of the night is given to eating. Despite the fact that the panda loves bamboo very much, it can also eat mushrooms, flowers, roots, tubers and grass. And sometimes fish, if she still manages to catch it from the water.
panda cubs
Every 2-3 years, one cub is born for each female. It happens that one female is born with two or three cubs. But the mother can only go out alone. Before giving birth, she equips a lair in a hollow tree, lining it with leaves and branches. In the first three weeks after birth, the panda mother does not leave her helpless cub, pressing it with her front paws to her nipples.
Cubs are born blind, naked and very tiny. Each of them weighs only 150 grams. But they grow very fast. A month after birth, they are already overgrown with wool with black spots, and after another two, their eyes open. Babies only start walking three months. After a year, and sometimes a year and a half, the cub already enters an independent life, leaves the mother's lair.
If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you
Among the representatives of the animal kingdom of the planet there are such unusual specimens of the fauna that pundits do not even immediately understand: how to classify them and whose relatives to recognize. Such creatures include panda.
At one time, serious disputes broke out between zoologists in order to find out which family this animal belongs to. Painfully unusual looks like this mysterious mammal, covered with fluffy hair.
And at first they decided that this beast was closest to raccoons, only much larger in size. True, there were those who saw in the panda a relationship with tigers, leopards and foxes. But genetic studies have refuted these assumptions, concluding that this cute animal still has much more related traits with bears.
And the manner of moving, in particular, the clumsiness characteristic of pandas, only confirmed this fact. Therefore, in the end they were classified as a family of bears, specifying that individual features from a raccoon, these creatures are still observed.
But on this questions and discussions about what animal is panda, have not run out, because the creatures that experts in the animal world have agreed to call giant pandas also have a smaller relative. And with the classification of the latter, everything turned out to be even more difficult. But more on that later.
For the first time in literary sources, this representative of the fauna was mentioned in ancient collections of Chinese poetry and historical chronicles of the Celestial Empire. The age of such records is estimated at about three millennia.
By the way, the Chinese called such an animal: Xiongmao, which translates as "bear-cat." And the name speaks for itself appearance animal and its habits.
The giant panda reaches a size of about one and a half meters, but if we add the size of the tail to its length, which is about 12.5 cm, then the measurement result will increase slightly.
The weight of the animal is approximately 160 kg. The coat colors of these bizarre creatures, like them, are very unique. Their head hair is impressively white, but the circles framing their eyes are black.
The ears and tail are of the same color, as well as a band on the body resembling a collar. Their paws, disproportionately small in comparison with the body, are also black.
An interesting detail structures differ in the front limbs of animals. They are endowed with six fingers. But to be more precise, there are only five fingers, and the addition to them should be considered only a bone carpal outgrowth covered with skin.
And such a modification turns out to be very useful, helping animals to survive in nature.
There are giant pandas in some provinces of China, in particular, in Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan, as well as in Tibet, where they choose wild areas of the area overgrown with bamboo for their livelihoods.
That is why such animals were nicknamed bamboo bears. The just mentioned feature of the structure of the paws allows them to easily hold the stems of plants, in the thickets of which they love to hide.
They grab them with their front limbs. And also paws with six fingers help them climb very tall trees.
panda species
Continuing our story about two: large and small varieties of these amazing representatives of the fauna, we note: despite the antiquity of the sources where they are described, they became truly known to the world only a little over a century ago.
Painfully rare these creatures that live in the Asian expanses. Discussions about their classification are also complicated by the fact that the small variety of pandas has too many differences from the previously described one, and therefore they were refused to be included in the bear family.
We have to admit: the origin of these creatures remains a mystery until today.
The small panda among the representatives of the terrestrial fauna also found many relatives. Such creatures were attributed to the family of skunks, raccoons, mustelids. But in the end they were forced to abandon this venture.
Little panda it doesn’t look like anyone, and therefore it is ranked as an independent family of small pandas. And with the mentioned animals, a distant similarity in structure and behavior with which is noticed, it is combined into the marten-like superfamily.
However, with his big brother, the small pandas still have a lot of similarities. In particular, they are similar in the presence of a sixth pseudo-finger.
The size of this animal is only 55 cm. The red panda boasts a long, fluffy, special occasions almost half a meter, tail. The body of the animal is elongated; the muzzle is sharp, short. Also features of the appearance are: a wide head, triangular ears; legs are strong, but short.
The colors of these creatures are impressive in variety. bright colors. The shade of the upper body is fiery red, for which such creatures were nicknamed red pandas. But the bottom is noticeably darker. It can be black or brown-red. The whole gamut of the outfit is nicely complemented by light patches of wool.
The habitat of these animals is larger than that of the previous species. But their ancestors were distributed, as studies show, even wider and were found even in Europe, as well as in the territory North America.
Modern red pandas have taken root only in Asian territories, as a rule, east of the Himalayas. More precisely: in China, in some of its areas; in the bamboo-covered, northeastern parts of India, as well as in Nepal.
Lifestyle and habitat
Both species, as has already been found out, are inhabitants of Asia, and their favorite habitat is mountain forests, where there is enough food for them. Therefore, animals have a slow character and lead a leisurely, calm lifestyle, mainly engaged in searching for food and chewing it.
Panda – nocturnal animal, therefore, during the daytime, these creatures indulge in rest, hiding in comfortable tree hollows or other cozy places. Small pandas sleep in a very interesting position: curled up and covering their heads with a long tail.
Both species of animals with agility are able to move through the trees, and on the ground they seem completely clumsy and feel awkward. In view of such features, if the animals are in danger, they try to hide from enemy pursuit by climbing up a tree.
Such animals are famous for their funny movements and extremely cute for their amusing clumsiness. And therefore, if they find themselves in a zoo, they always attract attention. In addition, they have a playful disposition, they like to play pranks and amuse the children.
This behavior is especially characteristic of young individuals. For these qualities, pandas are officially recognized as the cutest creatures on the planet. And such honorary title noted even in the Guinness Book of Records.
In addition, the charm of these animals is adequately appreciated in their homeland, in China. In this country, they have become a national emblem. And the laws of the state prohibit the hunting of these animals. It should be noted that this measure is forced and there were good reasons for its introduction.
The fact is that these representatives of the fauna are becoming less and less in the world. According to reports, at the end of the last century, there were no more than a thousand specimens of giant pandas in nature. And therefore, for the murder of such animals in China, a punishment at a certain time was appointed the death penalty.
With a small relative, things are not so sad, but enhanced measures are still being taken to protect these creatures. Another reason for the decline in the panda population was climate change on the planet.
In view of this, the environment to which they are accustomed continues to be preserved only in limited areas of the Earth. And as a result, cute cute creatures are threatened with complete extinction.
However, despite the strictest prohibitions, the extermination of pandas still continues. And the problem of poaching seems to be more than serious. And the main attractive factor for hunters is the beautiful fur of these extremely cute and attractive representatives of the terrestrial fauna.
Nutrition
The giant panda is related to bears. And, therefore, by natural laws must be a predator. But there are enough exceptions in the rules, especially for unique creatures nature.
And therefore here it is necessary to take into account the habit of existence in certain conditions. Let's remember where panda lives. These creatures prefer to settle in bamboo thickets, and therefore, taking into account the characteristics of the environment, they have learned and are terribly fond of eating the stems and roots of this plant.
And it is in their diet is the most basic and favorite dish. In addition, it is eaten in large quantities, because adults, due to the low productivity of such food as bamboo, are forced to consume it in an amount of up to 15 kg per day.
And such a long habit of eating bamboo, which is inherent in these animals at the genetic level, simply cannot but affect the biological structure of the body. The giant panda is not able to live without this plant.
And therefore, if bamboo thickets die, pandas also die. But also character traits the structures of the predator's digestion are still preserved. As a result, the stomach of such animals is not quite adapted to the thorough processing of this type of food.
Therefore, these animals are forced to regularly supplement their menu with fish, bird eggs and their meat. They also prey on small mammals.
By the way, when dealing with these cute and cute animals in the zoo, one should not forget about their predatory nature. Lulled by the charm of these creatures, people cease to take into account the fact that they are quite capable of showing aggression as well.
As for the small pandas, they are content with about the same diet, plus they also eat mushrooms. During the day they eat about 4 kg of bamboo, but always juicy young shoots.
Reproduction and lifespan
Panda – animal with extremely low fertility. And this, unfortunately, is one of the reasons why these original cute creatures have become very rare on the planet. The period of love games and subsequent mating usually begins in the spring and lasts up to two weeks.
And the signal for their beginning is a specific smell emanating from animals, the appearance of which is facilitated by substances secreted by special glands.
During courtship and marriage rituals can be heard published by these representatives of the Asian fauna, peculiar, very loud sounds. Next, panda moms carry their babies for the next five (or a little more) months.
At the same time, the cub born after the specified period has a very small size. He is helpless, nondescript, blind and naked. But it grows fast enough, and a tender mother does not skimp on caring for him.
It often happens that not one baby is born, but twins. But only the strongest survive. At the same time, the mother chooses the most viable herself, and refuses attention to the other, condemning to death.
The period of breastfeeding is carried out for about one and a half months. But the cub at the end breastfeeding does not leave the mother for a long time, and she continues to educate until the offspring is 3 years old.
Panda babies are distinguished by their extreme desire to constantly move and learn. the world and also they love to play and have fun. They mature as sexually mature individuals at about five years of age.
But they acquire a full-fledged ability to mate only after another two years. The lifespan of such creatures is measured at approximately 20 years. The Chinese government annually spends huge amounts of money on the protection of these rare and unusual animals, declared national treasures in the country.
Giant pandas are the most rare representatives bear family. For external resemblance to common bear they called the animal “bei-shung”, which roughly means “white mountain bear”, and for the nature of the food they gave another name to the bamboo bear. Zoologists having studied anatomical features animals, attributed it to the raccoon family and called the BIG PANDA. Big because earlier in 1825, the family was enrolled little panda, an animal that lives in some areas of Asia. And only at the end of the last century, with the help of biochemical analyzes, it was finally possible to establish the truth - the BIG PANDA returned to the "bosom of bears" as an ancient side branch of the clubfoot family.
On November 9, 1927, a giant panda was discovered in China. Now the panda is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most attractive beast among rare animal species. Here are five more interesting and cognitive facts about everyone's favorite black and white bear
Opening unusual beast, as usual, turned against him. Not only scientists became interested in panda, but also miners of rare hunting trophies, trappers and wildlife traders. Many adventurers from Europe and the New World rushed to China. But getting to the habitats of giant pandas was extremely difficult. High mountains, impassable roads, dense forests, impenetrable thickets of bamboo, numerous water barriers, rock falls...
Via local residents the first giant panda was caught in 1916, but it quickly died. And only twenty years later, one American bought a young panda and safely delivered it to the USA, to the city of San Francisco.
The giant panda is the rarest animal in the world. It is only common in Chinese People's Republic. Now inhabits mountain forests at an altitude of up to two thousand meters above sea level and higher in Sichuan province. Perhaps it has been preserved in unexplored, hard-to-reach places in the province of Gansu and a number of regions of Tibet.
The firstborn in captivity - Su-Ling (it was a female) was shown in a number of US zoos. Some time later, after a long search, two adult pandas were again delivered to the USA, and then several of these animals ended up in London. Until that time, there were no such animals in any of the zoos in the world.
After the Second World War, the habitats of these rare animals were declared protected. Several research groups began to carefully study bei-shungs to find out if it was possible to keep and breed bamboo bears in captivity. The expeditions were crowned with success. In 1957, the giant panda first settled in our country, in a special house on the territory of the Moscow Zoo. It was a large male named Ping-Ping. And in the summer of 1959, they managed to acquire a second copy, according to the plan, in pair with Ping-Ping. His name was An-An, but, unfortunately, he also turned out to be a male. So two handsome beans lived with us in Moscow.
For a long time, nothing was known about the reproduction of giant pandas, but in September 1963, in the Beijing Zoo, a female named Li-Li gave birth to a baby, his weight was 142 grams. He grew very quickly and by the age of five months he had gained ten kilograms. The baby was named Ming-Ming, that is, "brilliant, sparkling." For the first ten days after birth, the female did not let him go even while eating. She threw a two-month-old cub from paw to paw, playing with it like a doll. At three months, Brilliant began to move independently - the mother would fall asleep, and he would go for a walk, but she quickly woke up, instantly found her child and spanked with her paw. In September 1964, the same female gave birth to a second baby, and scientists were able to determine that giant pandas carry their cubs for about 140 days.
Young pandas in captivity are very playful, they are good-natured, funny, move a lot, take the most unusual poses: they can stand on their heads, while helping themselves with their front paws, perfectly somersault over their heads, deftly climb gratings and nets, ladders, ropes, poles. With their front paws, they hold balls, enamel and aluminum bowls, waiting to be filled with food. They treat people without any hostility, however, when playing and fussing, they don’t know the sense of proportion, they can accidentally grab them with their teeth, scratch them with the claws of their front paws and press them against the wall. But at the same time, they are well tamed, quickly remember the nicknames given to them.
Having reached the age of three or four, giant pandas become slower, they are no longer so trusting of people, and they have to be handled with caution. The animal is not small. The height at the shoulders of an adult animal is up to seventy, and the body length is up to one hundred and seventy centimeters.
The "solidity" of adult pandas is expressed in their amazing poses. They can sit as if in an armchair, while leaning one of the front paws on a ledge and leaning their backs against some object. In this position, they can take a nap or slowly take up their toilet, otherwise they simply clean the branches of brooms from the leaves and slowly chew them.
In nature, pandas are active at dawn and at night. They are very clean. Most pandas are silent for a while, only occasionally making sounds similar to bleating. They don't like summer rain showers, hide from them in shelters, but after rain they willingly roam through puddles and damp grass. But they refuse to swim in the pool, they just run around in shallow water, dousing themselves with spray.
Giant pandas are extremely cautious in nature. They are afraid of people, but Buddhist monks living in high mountain temples managed to tame young and even adult pandas. Animals came to them alone and even in groups, took a delicacy and let them approach them for several meters. In habitats giant panda, except different types bamboo, spruce, pine, cedar, fir, larch, oak, beech and various shrubs grow. The giant panda feels great in this thicket, easily climbs tall trees and rests there, comfortably sitting on large branches or in the forks of trunks.
Remarkable is the ability of the beast not only to run fast, but also to roll head over heels along steep mountain slopes, escaping from persecution. At the same time, the panda presses its front paws to its eyes, protects them, and presses it to its stomach. hind legs. From natural enemies the most dangerous for her are leopards and red wolves. The claws of the big panda on all four paws are long, three to four centimeters each, the soles of the paws are densely covered with long dark hair, the tail is white, short, similar to a shoulder blade.
Nature endowed the panda's paws with five bare pads so that the bamboo would not slip out. And to make it more convenient to hold, there is also a process on the wrist bone, which the panda uses like a thumb. It turns out that the paw of a panda is similar to a human hand. And in general, when a panda eats, sitting down in its usual position and holding a bamboo stick in its paw, it becomes very similar to a person. By the way, the human and panda genomes coincide by 68%.
IN natural conditions giant pandas feed mainly on leaves and young shoots of bamboo, and also eat some other plants and insects. There is evidence that sometimes bamboo bears feed on fish, small rodents and other animals. Now, as, indeed, before, giant pandas - a rarity captive. Only a dozen or three giant pandas are kept in zoos around the world. The image of this wonderful beast has become an emblem International Foundation wildlife protection.
It has been proven that the Giant Panda or Bamboo Bear is the closest relative of the Spectacled Bear. And never a relative of a raccoon, as many thought.
The giant panda grows up to 150-160 cm in length and weighs like an average American fat man - up to 160 kg.
Since the Big Panda is, he can freely eat not only vegetable food but also meat. In fact, pandas are omnivores, but their favorite treat is only bamboo.
The Giant Panda's genome is most similar to humans and dogs, even more so than mice.
It is still unknown why Pandas prefer to eat exclusively bamboo, Chinese genetic engineers are still trying to solve this issue.
Panda cannot be bought. Can only be rented from China. The cost of renting a panda is 1,000,000 US dollars per year. At the same time, all future conditions for keeping Panda are carefully checked. If for some reason the zoo is not suitable, the lease is denied. Sometimes a zoo can't afford a million dollar a year rent. In such cases, the state often sponsors zoos.
In total, there are about 1900 Giant Pandas left in the world - 300 of them are kept in captivity.
The panda is one of the rarest, poorly studied large animals, which is facilitated by a secretive lifestyle.
Despite the similar lifestyle and similar titles, the giant and red panda are not related species. The giant panda belongs to the bear family, and the small panda belongs to the panda family.
The panda's closest relative is the spectacled bear that lives in South America.
In summer, pandas climb up to 4000 meters in search of low temperatures, and in winter they can descend to a height of 800 meters.
A panda's tooth is 7 times bigger than a human's.
Every day, the panda is busy eating for more than 12 hours and eats about 12-15% of its weight.
The panda assimilates only about 20% of what is eaten.
Unlike other bears, the panda does not hibernate.
The weight of a newborn panda is only one eight hundredth that of its mother.
Pandas often give birth to twins, but after giving birth, the panda mother chooses more strong baby, and the second, left unattended, soon dies.
The cub lives with his mother from one and a half to three years.
The panda is an endangered species that is extremely difficult to conserve and increase its population. This is due to the deforestation of bamboo forests. Another reason is that black and white bears have a very low birth rate and in wild nature, and in captivity, and until 2000, giant pandas did not breed at all in zoos. Usually, childbirth occurs every two years, one or two cubs are born. Moreover, the mother takes care of only one, the strongest, leaving the second one, which, without the supervision of the mother, is doomed to death ... Now there are supposedly about 1600 individuals left in the wild. In China, they are especially baked for their national treasure: the death penalty is even provided for killing a panda.
Panda, she is also a bamboo bear, is a representative of the mammals of the raccoon family. The only view kind. By appearance very reminiscent of a bear, but it is distinguished from a real bear by a different structure of teeth and relatively a long tail. This bear-like animal has long been considered a "huge raccoon", due to the common anatomical features with the red panda, which was unconditionally considered a raccoon. But ordinary peasants of China have long called it "polar bear" or "bamboo bear", which turned out to be closer to the truth, which taxonomists figured out not so long ago.
pandas live in dense thickets bamboo forests of China, the island of Kalimantan and Indonesia, which are both shelter and main source of food for these rare animals. To fully saturate the adult organism of the “bamboo bear”, about eighteen kilograms of young shoots and juicy bamboo stems are required during the day, which the animal grinds with its jaws. This type food is very nutritious, as a result of which, all the time of wakefulness, which is from ten to twelve hours, the animal is forced to chew. In addition, carrion, small animals and birds, which the bear eats very rarely, can serve as food.
In the wild, the "bamboo bear" lives alone, and only once a year, during mating season, meets with a female or male to prolong the offspring. The result of which is the birth of one, rarely two, naked, helpless and blind cub. The eyes of a newborn bear cub open only after a month. After three weeks, the baby panda begins to grow hair, acquiring its signature color and "glasses", and its weight is no more than 175 grams, which is rapidly gaining and reaches 3-4 kilograms in two months, and by mature age- 17-160 kilograms.
But pandas living in the wild have nothing to envy: a person, developing territories, deforests, which is why most individuals during a short three-day mating season do not have time to find their partner and remain without offspring, thereby reducing their population, which number is about seven hundred individuals. Therefore, the panda has long been listed in the Red Book, and every newborn is a great value and joy.
IN given time panda is considered a national treasure of China, a symbol of friendship and peace, due to which most individuals live under the strictest protection national reserves in the southwestern regions of the country.
The giant panda belongs to rare species animals. The number of individuals in the wild is about 1600 bears. The settlement area is central China, mainly mountainous regions and the foothills of Tibet.
panda has a row hallmarks. These are relatively small animals, the body length is not more than 1.5 m, the weight of the animal usually reaches 160 kg. Unlike other bears, the panda has a long tail - 12 cm - and the body is covered with thick hair. Black paws and black circles around the eyes stand out especially.
Pandas are vegetarians. Their main diet is bamboo leaves. If possible, the panda can eat the eggs of birds that have fallen from the nest, but the bamboo diet is the basis of the panda's food. The life expectancy of pandas is 14-20 years. Long-lived panda lived 26 years.
Discovery history
The panda became known to Western countries only after 1869. The view was glorified by the French missionary Armand David (1826-1900). These animals in the West came into fashion quite quickly. The reason for the love for the panda that appeared in Europe was its appearance: they are similar to plush toys depicting bears, and besides, pandas are staunch vegetarians.
The first time after the discovery of this amazing animal by European science, the panda was considered a relative of the raccoon; the assumption that the panda-bear appeared only in 1921 and belongs to R. Pokkok. Today, the nickname "bamboo bear" is firmly entrenched in this animal.
Classification
Pandas belong to the animal kingdom, chordate phylum, vertebrate subphylum, mammal class, placental infraclass, carnivorous order, bear family, genus and species "giant panda".
The Australian paleontologist E. Tennius, based on an analysis of the morphology, biochemistry, cardiology and ethology of the giant panda, proved that in 16 parameters it is close to bears and only in five to the lesser panda and raccoons.
Spreading
The distribution area of the giant panda is not extensive: it lives in several western provinces of China (Sichuan, Gansu, Tibet). Previously, she also lived in mountain bamboo forests in Indochina and on the island of Kalimantan. The full range covers 29,500 km², but only 5,900 km² is the habitat of the panda.
For resettlement, pandas choose impenetrable bamboo forests at an altitude of 1200 - 1400 m above sea level. This bear prefers to hide in bamboo thickets 3-4 m high, which provide shelter and food for the panda. This is usually rainy and difficult terrain.
life in nature
Currently, the panda has no natural enemies left, the main threat to existence comes from humans and is associated with the constant decrease in forests. Bamboo makes up 99% of the entire diet of bears: both stems and roots of the plant are eaten.
Monotonous food is not nutritious and is digested with difficulty, so the panda is forced to chew almost all the time he is awake (and this is 10-12 hours a day), moving along the bamboo thicket. To get enough nutrition, they are forced to eat from 12 to 18 kg of bamboo per day. When digesting bamboo, animals use only 17% of the dry matter on average, which is why giant pandas have an extremely strict energy budget for their bodies. They travel little and usually only to search for food.
Animals are active at any time of the day or night. The panda does not hide in trees, and does not make a permanent den, but in bad weather it sometimes hides in bamboo branches, rock crevices and caves. Giant pandas are primarily terrestrial animals, although they are good climbers. IN cold period the panda is inactive, in snowy winters it sometimes flows into a short time like hibernation, but unlike other bears, she does not sleep in winter.
Many people find the panda not only attractive but also a gentle, harmless animal, but in reality, giant pandas can be just as dangerous as any other bear. Thanks to her extreme caution and secretive lifestyle, it is only occasionally possible to get a panda for the zoo, and even in the largest zoos in the world they are very rare, as well as in their homeland.
Pandas are kept mostly alone, except for the time of mating and raising offspring. Giant pandas occupy a territory of 3.9-6.4 km² (the areas of males are larger than those of females), which is much smaller than that of other species of bears. At the same time, the territories of males partially cover those of females.
Relationship with a person
Since ancient times, pandas have been persecuted because of their fur, which is very highly valued (in Japan, the price of one skin reaches $200,000). Until recently, panda fur was used to make very valuable sleeping mats, as it was believed to have supernatural properties that help predict the future through dreams.
The giant panda is in the Red Book and is one of the rarest, poorly studied large animals, which is facilitated by a secretive lifestyle. She became famous only in mid-nineteenth century, and live panda naturalists first observed in nature only in 1913. In China, the giant panda was declared a national treasure. According to the results of a census conducted in 2004, it was found that the wild population of the giant panda includes approximately 1600 animals. About 140 pandas live in zoos. Rarely breeds in captivity and mostly in China.
Interesting Facts
Not everyone knows that renting giant pandas to US and Japanese zoos was an important part of Chinese diplomacy in the 1970s, it was one of the first manifestations cultural exchange between East and West. However, starting in 1984, pandas were no longer used for diplomatic purposes. Instead, China is offering pandas to other countries on a 10-year lease. Standard rental terms include rent at 1 million US dollars per year and providing guarantees that all bear cubs born during the lease period are the property of the PRC.
Loading...
