Panda Bear Facts For Kids | Amazing Giant Panda Bear Facts For Kids

Check out all these unbelievable giant panda bear facts for kids including panda diet, reproduction, distribution, and physical appearance. The panda is a bear (Ailuropoda melanileuca) that is coated with black and white skin and is also called Giant Panda. These bear species inhabit across south western and central-western China. With its unmistakable physical appearance and prominent black patches surrounding its eyes, the giant panda can easily be familiarized. It belongs to the family of Ursidae and the order of Carnivora. Despite its order specification, giant panda eats 99% of bamboo.

In the wild, these species are more likely to consume wild tubers, carrion, birds, some birds, and grasses. They can be looked after in captivity where they should be fed with honey, bananas, oranges, shrub leaves, bamboo, fish, eggs, yams, and of course bamboo. The Giant Panda is the inhabitant of Sichuan province and Gansu province in China. However, due to extreme deforestation, the giant pandas have been forced to leave their original habitats to the lowlands. According to wild estimate, there are around 1,590 panda bears left in the wild but another study reveals out that there are around 2,000 – 3,000 bears living.

Interesting Panda Bear Facts For Kids

• The giant panda is coated with a black-and-white skin.
• The length of the Giant Panda measures around 1.2 – 1.8 meters (4 – 6 feet); including tail measuring at 13 cm (5.1 inches).
• The shoulder height of these animals is 60 – 90 cm (1 feet – 10 inches to 2 feet – 10 inches).
• The weight of the male panda bears is around 160 kg (350 lb), while females weigh around 75 kg (170 lb), with some females may be as heavy as 125 kg (280 lb).
• The average weight of giant panda measures around 100 – 115 kg (220 – 250 lb).
• The males are 10 – 20 % larger as compared to females.
• There are prominent black scraps around its eyes, muzzle, and shoulders.
• Most of the panda’s coat is white. Scientists are unable to understand the black-and-white coloration of these bears but they suggest this might be to camouflaging them in snow and mountains.
• The dense coat of panda bears prevents from feeling intense cold.
• Their large teeth are powerful enough to crush a rigid bamboo very easily.
• After the sloth bear, the giant panda got the longest tail measuring at 10 – 15 cm.
• The average lifespan of these animals is about 20 years in the wild while in captivity they can survive up to 30 years.
• The oldest giant panda lived was female named Ming Ming, died at the age of 34 years in captivity.
• They are considered to be terrestrial animals pandas for the most part spend time roaming around the forests.
• They are generally solitary species and females do not permit other females to enter her territory.
• The pandas are capable to climb trees and rock crevices very easily but they do not make den in trees.
• There are several ways in which pandas communicate with each other some of which are spraying urine, marking on trees, and producing different vocals.
• The panda bears do no hibernate.

What Do Panda Bears Eat | Endangered Panda Bear Facts For Kids

The giant panda bear is herbivore species and it predominantly feeds on bamboo. These types of bears consume as much as 9 – 14 kg (20 – 30 pounds) of bamboo shoot each day. They are known to eat almost 25 bamboo species in the wild.

Read More: Giant Panda Facts for Kids

Reproduction

1. The giant pandas reach the maturity age after 4 – 8 years and may be reproductive until age 20.
2. The mating season usually begins in March to May.
3. The female’s estrus cycle lasts for about 2 – 3 days.
4.  The gestation period lasts for 95 – 160 days.
5. The newly-born blind cubs are usually pink in color with no teeth.
6. If two cubs are born, the mother will select the stronger one to feed milk as she does not have enough fat to nurse two cubs in a single time.
7. The weight of these cubs is 90 – 130 grams (3.2 – 4.6 ounces).
8. The mother will nurse its cubs 6 – 14 times in 24 hours for up to 30 minutes at a time.
9. These cubs will start crawling after 75 – 80 days.
10. The cubs will begin their first bamboo-meal after 6 months.
11. These little pandas become as heavy as 45 kg (100 pounds) in one year.
12. The females will not give birth for 2 years after the first reproduction.
13. They will not leave their mother for 18 months to two years.