Cultural Spotlight on China

Our Beautiful Human Family Corner: Cultural Spotlight on China

The giant panda, native to China, is known and adored by the world for its cuteness. It has black patches around the eyes and a coat of black and white. The mountain areas in central China are its home. Chinese call giant pandas the “national treasure.” Pandas are important members of their natural habitats, but they are facing many dangers. Because of human activities such as farming and deforestation, wild pandas are gradually driven out of their homes and thus become vulnerable species, with 1,864 in the wild.

All pandas in the world are from China. In China, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has bred over 400 pandas. If you visit it from August to October, you could see baby pandas, who are only the size of a stick of butter at birth! In the United States, you can see pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, GA, and the Memphis Zoo in Memphis, TN. Make sure to see them from 9:00 am to 11:00 am when they are most active. However, if you cannot make the trip, you can always follow accounts such as @iPanda on Instagram to find out about pandas’ day to day lives.

5 Quick facts about giant pandas: 

• Pandas have been living on earth for two to three million years. 
• They have six “fingers” so that they can hold the bamboo, which constitutes 99% of their diet.
• They would spend 14-16 hours a day eating bamboo. 
• Although adult pandas can reach 220-330 pounds and seem bulky, they are efficient tree climbers. 
• Giant pandas are unique only to China! 

By knowing more about giant pandas, we can better educate the next generation of the importance of protecting wild lives and biodiversity. 

Sources:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

(Image) http://www.panda.org.cn/english/