Panda

INTRODUCTION
The Panda Bear is a probably the most famous Endangered Animal and it has captured the hearts of people around the world and become an enduring symbol of conservation efforts to save endangered species
The Panda lives in six small areas located in China. In China they call the Panda "Xiongmao", which means Giant Cat Bear. The Panda was believed to have magical powers that couldward off natural disasters and evil spirits. Writings about the Pandas can be traced back 3,000 years. They were even kept as pets by Chinese Emperors.
It is difficult to calculate exactly how many pandas are left, but an estimated 800 live in the wild and roughly 100 live in captivity, mostly in zoos, breeding centers and special reserves in China. Yet despite de all the attention to its plight andinternational efforts to save the panda, there is a real risk that it will become extinct.
Once the Giant Panda roamed mountain lowlands from Myanmar through northern Vietnam and much of eastern and southern China; but farming, development and clear-cutting have destroyed the bamboo forests that make up their natural habitat.
More than 50 percent of these forests have been lost in the past fewdecades alone - and they are not easily replaced. Bamboo flowers only every 80 to 100 years, and takes 20 years to grow enough to sustain a panda population.
Then in the 1980s things got worse. Much of China's bamboo forests died out suddenly and inexplicably and over 150 pandas starved to death. Unfortunately, their distinctive fur also makes them attractive prey for poachers.
China is makingevery effort to ensure the continuation of the panda species. Since 1963, the government has proclaimed 13 protective preserves where bamboo flourishes in six isolated mountain ranges in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansuin provinces of western China.
However, the solution of habitat loss is challenging in China, because of the demand for land and resources by a population of over one billion people"Giant pandas need vast areas of temperate mountain forests with lots of bamboo; people living in the vicinity of the animals need secure sources of income and better livelihoods; and China needs help from the world's people to protect its'nationaltreasure'forallhumankind".

PANDA’S DESCRIPTION
Habitat
Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous tree with bears in the cone forests with adense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.
Physical description
The giant panda, a black-and-white bear. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. The panda's thick, wooly de coat keeps it warmin the cool forests of its habitat. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear. Pandas are good at climbing trees. They can also swim. Giant pandas bears have a massive head, heavy body, short tail, rounded ears and plantigrade feet. Asedentary bear who usually stays in a selected feeding area eating large amounts of bamboo, giant pandas generally move in a slow, determined manner. When startled, they will move at a slow trot to escape danger. Giant pandas, with their short claws, are capable of climbing trees very easily.
The fur of the giant panda is thick and coarse. To the touch, the fur feels oily. This oily protectivecoating helps protects pandas from the cool and damp climate in which the bear lives. These hides can be sold for $100,000 dollars.
Size
About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild
Life span
Scientists aren't sure...