Cuddly Exotic Bears

When you think of pandas, you probably picture a big cuddly black-and-white bear. But there are actually two kinds of pandas: the giant panda and the lesser panda. The giant panda is the familiar black-and-white animal, which is found mostly in the forests of central China. The lesser panda looks rather like a raccoon.

The giant panda grows to about 5 feet long and 220 pounds. Its favorite food is bamboo, and it eats almost nothing else. It needs to consume large quantities of bamboo to get the nourishment that its body needs, so it spends about 10 to 12 hours a day eating. Captive pandas, like those found in zoos, have a broader diet. In addition to bamboo, they may eat cereals, milk, and garden vegetables.

The lesser panda is smaller and has rich reddish brown fur on its back and black fur on its belly. It has a bushy ringed tail that makes it look a little like a raccoon. The lesser panda is sometimes called a “cat bear” or “red bear cat.” It’s also found in China, as well as in the South Asian countries of Myanmar, Nepal, and India. Like its giant cousin, the lesser panda also eats bamboo. But it also eats grasses, fruits, other plant material, and, sometimes, small animals.

Giant pandas are endangered animals. Their natural habitat keeps shrinking each year. But many countries are trying to help China preserve its bamboo forests so that pandas have a place to live. People are also working to increase the number of pandas by breeding them in zoos. []

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Aceh, Indonesia

29th April 2016

TM. Noumi