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  3. Giant Panda Characteristics of Giant Pandas The scientific name of Giant Panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which means "cat-f

Giant Panda Characteristics of Giant Pandas The scientific name of Giant Panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which means "cat-f

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问题                                              Giant Panda
Characteristics of Giant Pandas
    The scientific name of Giant Panda is Ailuropoda melanoleuca, which means "cat-footed animals in black and white color". An adult panda can be as tall as 1.6 to 1.8 meters with body weight ranging from 60 to 160 kg. Male Giant Pandas are larger than females, and they weigh about l0to 20% heavier. The head of the Giant Panda is large, with a broad round face, flat nose and round protruding ears. Surrounding the eyes are the characteristic black patches. The ears, limbs and shoulders are covered with black fur while the fur on the other parts of the body is white. Scientists believe that the black and white coloration helps Giant Pandas avoid contact with each other. However, at the same time, this distinctive coloration can help them find each other easily during mating seasons. The fur of the Giant Panda is actually rough, short and very dense. The oily nature of the fur can prevent penetration of moisture, which is an important adaptation to living in humid environment. Giant Pandas’ ability to see far is weak. However, their auditory and olfactory (嗅觉) senses are very strong.
Habitat of Giant Pandas
    They are solely found in Sichuan, and the southwestern parts of Gansu and Shanxi provinces. The Giant Pandas live in bamboo forests ranging from 4,000 to 11,000 feet above sea level, where it is humid. In winter, they migrate lower down the mountains, while in summer they stay in the higher reaches. The male’s home range is larger than that of the female. A male’s home range can be up to 30 square kilometers.
Behavior of Giant Pandas
    Giant Pandas are most active in the morning and at dusk. Giant Pandas sleep hidden away inside caves and dens which may be a hollow at the bottom of a large tree truck. Giant Pandas are solitary animals. They spend their lives alone, except during mating seasons or when females rear their young. Giant Pandas live in well-defined territories. Giant Pandas urinate (小便) or scent on trees to warn others of their presence in the territory. They also vocalize, producing sounds such as roaring or bleating (similar to that of a domestic goat), to convey to the others their intentions. Giant Pandas defecate (排便) about 48 times a day. In the wild, defecates are useful research materials for scientists, from them information regarding the individual pandas, such as health conditions, and the size of the population in the area, can be gained.
Diet of Giant Pandas
    The Giant Pandas’ diet is very specific, consisting entirely of bamboo. As pandas can only absorb about 10-18% of nutrients available in the bamboo they eat, it is necessary for them to cat more than 10 kg of bamboo a day to meet their daily requirement. Wild pandas only eat 40 species of bamboo, and only 2-6 are their favorites. The leaves of the bamboo are most nutritious and balanced in nutrients. However, the nutritional value of different parts of the bamboo changes according to seasons. Seasonal changes affect the panda’s preference of which part of the bamboo to eat. For example, before winter arrives, panda prefers to eat the roots of the bamboo because they contain more water and protein.
Reproduction of Giant Pandas
    The mating season of Giant Pandas ranges from January to June. The female pandas may mate with more than one male in a single mating season to ensure successful fertilization. The gestation (妊娠) period ranges from 83 to 163 days, and 135 days is the average. It is common to have 1 to 2 cubs (幼崽) in a litter (窝). However, only one cub will receive enough care from the mother to survive. A panda cub is born blind, and completely helpless, therefore, it demands undivided attention, leaving the mother little or no time and energy to care for a second cub. To have three cubs in a litter is very rare. A newly-born cub weighs about 90g to130g (3-5oz), in the order of 1/900th of the adult’s weight. A Giant Panda cub becomes independent of its mother at about I to 1.5 years of age. It leaves its mother’s territory to establish its own and fends for itself. The female panda is then able to give birth again.
Giant Panda Nature Reserves
    A Giant Panda nature reserve is a wilderness area, home to the Giant Pandas, where they are protected from human activities. So far 33 nature reserves are established by the Chinese government. In addition to nature reserves, bamboo corridors are necessary to link up the often small and scattered reserve areas so that the pandas can roam to different areas in search for food or mating partners. Nature reserves can also be expanded to allow larger populations of pandas that can prevent in-breeding. Strict laws are passed down by the Chinese government to protect the nature reserves. For example any form of plant and animal exploitations are prohibited. Offenders may be fined or imprisoned. Residence within the nature reserves is restricted to existing residents only. Management plans for nature reserves are carefully designed and reviewed by many levels of government officials. Nature reserves are also home to other rare species such as the red pandas, and golden monkey.
Threats to Giant Pandas
    There are many reasons for the dramatic decrease in the wild population of pandas. These reasons are complex and include factors such as poaching (偷猎), habitat destruction and degradation, the panda’s low reproductive rate and bamboo flowering, followed by death of the plant.
•  Poaching
   Giant Pandas are not tasty to eat and its body components bear no known medicinal value. People in the past have poached pandas for exhibitions in zoos, for display in museums and for private collections. Giant Pandas also fall victims of traps that are laid down for other animals.
•  Habitat Destruction
    Development activities such as deforestation for agricultural land and logging are on going to cope with the ever increasing population of China. These activities are carried out at the expense of the habitat of the pandas, forcing them to move higher up the mountains and isolating them into discrete groups. In the past two decades, the size of pandas’ habitat has decreased by 50%.
•  Low Reproductive Rate
    The reason for the low reproductive rate of Giant Pandas is due to a combination of factors including:
    * Highly selective in choosing mating partners.
    * Receptive period for mating is very short.
    * Multiple-year gaps in giving birth, due to the long and intensive rearing period of cubs.
    * Mortality rate is high amongst infants as they are very helpless and vulnerable.                •  Shortage of Bamboo
    Bamboo flowering is part of the natural life cycle to produce seedlings for the next generation. For the bamboo species that pandas prefer to eat, they flower every 30-80 years. Due to habitat degradation and destruction, bamboo forests are no longer large and uninterrupted. They are fragmented, separated by development and human settlement which prevent the pandas from roaming freely in search of different species of bamboo to feed in times of need. Animals such as the lesser pandas and monkeys will also eat bamboo. Therefore, there is competition for food with other species of animals as well as amongst the Giant Pandas themselves.
Save the Giant Pandas
    Since habitat loss is a major concern, the Chinese government has set up 33 nature reserves where development and plant and animal exploitations are forbidden. Bamboo corridors are designed to link up fragmented forest areas so that the pandas can migrate to and fro, undisturbed, in search for new food source when the needs arise. Through controlled and successful breeding in captivity (圈养), the number of animals and the species’ genetic diversity can be increased to stock the wild. Scientists have developed assisted reproduction techniques such as artificial insemination (人工授精) for breeding of Giant Pandas in captivity. Artificial insemination has proven to be very successful in the breeding of Giant Pandas.
    In the past, conservation meant excluding people from nature reserves and protected areas. Modern conservation approaches work with the local people who live near or in the panda protected areas. These people are often poor and rely on the panda habitat areas for food. Therefore, conservation also includes helping these people through development that is sustainable and will improve their living without causing further harm to the nature reserves. We can educate them about the Giant Pandas and the values in its conservation. At the same time, we can also show them ways in which they can protect their precious nature reserves.
The average gestation period of Giant Pandas is
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答案135 days
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