People in need of food and income have cleared forests for agriculture and timber. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months and is nutritionally weaned at 1 year old, but not socially weaned for up to two years.Īs few as 1,864 giant pandas live in their native habitat, while another 600 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world. The largest threat to giant panda survival is habitat destruction. Except for a marsupial, such as a kangaroo or opossum, a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size.Ĭubs do not open their eyes until they are 6-8 weeks old and are not mobile until they are 3 months old. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. A newborn cub weighs 3-5 ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter.
At birth, a giant panda cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother's part to raise it. The giant pandas' naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss and other human-related causes of mortality. This means that a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year. In a lifetime, a giant panda may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives.
Calls and scents draw males and females to each other.įemale giant pandas give birth from 90 to 180 days after mating. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time a giant panda is able to conceive. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring.
Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between 4 and 8 years of age. A female is more likely to accept a male whose scent she recognizes and has encountered before. During breeding season, however, a female's scent mark advertises her sexual readiness and draws males to her. Outside of breeding season, a scent mark that is unfamiliar is usually enough to send a potential intruder ambling away. Depending on who reads the mark, the scents may either separate giant pandas or help bring them together. Scent marking alerts giant pandas in the vicinity to one another. Giant pandas mark their territory by rubbing secretions from their anal glands onto tree trunks, rocks or the ground, usually along paths that they habitually tread. Most of their communication is accomplished through scent marking throughout their habitat and territory. During mating, they become very vocal, relying on extremely detailed vocalizations to express all shades of mood from amorous to angry. Giant pandas do occasionally vocalize when playing. Giant pandas live in dense, fog-enshrouded stands of bamboo that obstruct a direct line of sight and any potential visual communications. It is thought that giant pandas never developed these visual accessories due in part to their habitat and solitary nature. They have no crest or mane to erect, and their ears are not flexible enough to cock forward or flatten. Their tails are stubs and therefore cannot flag signals to other giant pandas. Giant pandas do not exhibit body characteristics that communicate visual signals. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. The panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations. The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. Unfortunately, there is no one conclusive theory as to why giant pandas are black and white. Another theory suggests that the black absorbs heat while the white reflects it, helping giant pandas maintain an even temperature. Another thought is that the pattern may accentuate social signals in some way, or help giant pandas to identify one another from a distance so they can avoid socializing, as they are typically a solitary animal. This theory does not work, however, when considering that giant pandas have no natural enemies to hide from. In patches of dense bamboo, an immobile giant panda is nearly invisible, and virtually disappears among snow covered rocky outcrops on a mountain slope. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears.
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