Panda Promotion
Pandas are in danger. But why? And what’s being done to help them?
by Melissa Armstrong
The world-famous black and white bears get some help.
Pandas are a remarkable species. They can only be found in the bamboo forests of western China at heights of about 3,000 metres above sea level. They live a slow, peaceful life, spending much of the time eating some 60 species of bamboo, which forms 99% of their diet. And they need about 15 kilos of bamboo shoots a day to stay full.
But pandas are in danger. There are less than 1,600 adult giant pandas in the wild, and only around 300 in zoos and breeding centres around the world. Poaching, illegal logging and destruction of their natural habitat by humans are all threatening these animals and their ecosystem. On top of that, female pandas ovulate just once a year, and are fertile for only two or three days.