Wednesday, April 21, 2021

A to Z Challenge P is for Panda

 P IS FOR PANDA








Giant panda

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Giant panda
Grosser Panda.JPG
Giant panda at the Ocean Park Hong Kong
Scientific classificationedit
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Ursidae
Genus:Ailuropoda
Species:
A. melanoleuca
Binomial name
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
David, 1869[3]
Subspecies
Mapa distribuicao Ailuropoda melanoleuca.png
Giant panda range
Giant panda
Panda (Chinese characters).svg
"Panda" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters[4]
Traditional Chinese熊貓
Simplified Chinese熊猫
Literal meaning"bear cat"
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese貓熊
Simplified Chinese猫熊
Literal meaning"cat bear"

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleucaChinese大熊猫pinyindàxióngmāo),[5] also known as the panda bear or simply the panda, is a bear[6] native to South Central China.[1] It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet.[7] Giant pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.[8][9]

The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, but also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu.[10] As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived, and it is a conservation-reliant vulnerable species.[11][12] A 2007 report showed 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country.[13] As of December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 different countries.[14] Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild,[13] while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000.[15] Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise.[16] In March 2015, conservation news site Mongabay stated that the wild giant panda population had increased by 268, or 16.8%, to 1,864.[17] In 2016, the IUCN reclassified the species from "endangered" to "vulnerable",[12] affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda.

While the dragon has often served as China's national symbol, internationally the giant panda has often filled this role. As such, it is becoming widely used within China in international contexts, for example, appearing since 1982 on gold panda bullion coins and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the Beijing Olympics.

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