At Chuan-X Panda, learn more about pandas and read the latest panda news.
1. Who is the direct ancestor of the panda?
Answer: Ailurarctos lufengensi
2. How old are pandas?
Answer: Judging from the current fossil records, the panda has a history of about 8 million years.
3. What does the Papilloma panda look like?
Answer: Judging from the fossils, the size of pandas evolves from small to large, and then smaller again. The giant panda is the largest in the evolution of giant pandas. It is 1/9-1/8 larger than the living panda, and other characteristics are similar to the living panda.
4. In what period is the panda family most prosperous?
Answer: Pleistocene.
5. What is the earliest book recording pandas?
Answer: Among ancient Chinese books, the earliest books recording pandas are "Shangshu" and "The Book of Songs". They have a history of nearly 3,000 years.
6. What are the names of pandas in Chinese history?
Answer: According to records, during the Huangdi period, it was called Pixiu; during the Warring States period, it was called White Leopard and Iron-eating Beast; during the Three Kingdoms period, it was called Pi; during the Western Jin Dynasty, it was called Zouyu; in the Tang Dynasty, it was called White Bear; in the Ming Dynasty, it was called Tapir.
7. What is the historical distribution of pandas?
Answer: During the Pleistocene period, pandas entered an era of prosperity and were widely distributed in most parts of my country, spreading northward to the Zhoukoudian area in Beijing. In addition, it is also distributed in Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand in Southeast Asia.
8. Why are pandas known as “living fossils”?
Answer: Judging from the excavations so far, the distribution of panda fossils involves a total of 48 points in 14 provinces in my country. Its geological age belongs to the middle and late Pleistocene. The giant panda was a widely distributed species at that time, and formed a group with other animals. The representative animal community at that time is called the giant panda stegodon fauna by paleontologists, which shows that pandas were in a dominant position at that time and the population thrived. Over a long period of time, due to tremendous changes in the natural environment and climatic conditions, many species at the same time became extinct and became fossils because they could not adapt to these changes. After a long period of competition for survival, the giant panda has survived tenaciously and is known as a "living fossil". This is a valuable asset left by nature to us humans.
9. Which family does the giant panda belong to in animal taxonomy?
Answer: There has been a debate about the classification status of pandas for more than 130 years, and there are still certain differences among animal taxonomists. Some scholars believe that pandas are classified in the Procyonidae or Panda subfamily. Most scholars believe that pandas are still close to bears, but there are differences. Therefore, the currently recognized classification is:
Carnivora (CARNIVORA)
Ailuropodidae
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
10. Where are pandas distributed now?
Answer: Giant pandas are now distributed in the high mountains and deep valleys of the six mountain systems of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi, the Minshan Mountains in Sichuan and Gansu, and the Qionglai Mountains, Daxiangling, Xiaoxiangling and Liangshan in Sichuan.
11. In what altitude range do wild pandas roam?
Answer: The altitude of the wild panda’s activity range is mainly 2000-700 meters. Below an altitude of 1,300 meters, it is inconvenient for pandas to move due to human factors. The upper limit of the activity range is 3200-3700 meters, and can reach 4000 meters under special circumstances.
12. Why are pandas black and white?
Answer: The panda's habitat is in the 2000-3700 meter area, where the climate is relatively cold. The color of the giant panda is to adapt to the survival laws of nature. Experts theorize that the giant panda's unique fur color serves a range of functions, allowing it to match its background in different environments and use facial features to communicate. The face of the giant panda is milky white, and the lower back is white; there are oval black eye circles around the eyes, the hair color of the ears is black, the forelimbs to the shoulders are black, and the outer sides of the hind limbs are black.
13. Are there colorful pandas?
Answer: In addition to the common black and white color, pandas also have other coat color variations. Brown pandas have been found in Foping National Nature Reserve and Changqing National Nature Reserve in Shaanxi, China, and white pandas have been found in Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan, China.
14. Is the panda’s tail black or white?
Answer: White.
15. Is the coat of pandas soft?
Answer: The coat of pandas is relatively thick and hard, with a certain elasticity, and the bottom layer is downy. Its coat has good thermal insulation and moisture-proof effects, so giant pandas can live normally in cold snow.
16. How long is the life span of a giant panda?
Answer: The maximum life span of wild giant pandas is 26 years old, and the average life span is 19 years old. The life span of captive-bred giant pandas is 20-30 years old, and the current maximum life span is 38 years old. One year old for a giant panda is equivalent to 3-4 years old for a human.
17. How are the age stages of pandas divided?
Answer: The infancy stage is from birth to 0.5 years old for pandas, the juvenile stage is from 0.5 to 1.5 years old, the sub-adult stage is from 1.5 to 5 years old, the adult stage is from 5 to 21 years old, and the old age is from 21 years old to above.
18. How to determine the age of wild pandas?
Answer: One method is to group the pandas into age groups based on the degree of biting and chewing of the bamboo in their feces and the size of the feces to determine their approximate age. Another method is to slice the teeth. Researchers usually judge the age of the giant panda by looking at the color and wear degree of the teeth and the external shape of the giant panda.
19. How much does a giant panda weigh?
Answer: The weight of wild pandas is 90-110 kilograms, and the heaviest can reach 120-130 kilograms; the weight of artificially raised giant pandas is 90-125 kilograms, and the heaviest can reach 180 kilograms.
20. How tall is a giant panda?
Answer: The shoulder height of giant pandas is 0.65-0.75 meters, and the hip height is 0.64-0.65 meters.
21. How long is the panda?
Answer: The body length of pandas is generally 1.2-1.8 meters.
22. Are there differences in body size between male and female pandas?
Answer: There is a difference. The male is slightly larger and the female is about 10%-18% different.
23. What is the proportion of female and male pandas in number?
Answer: The ratio of female to male numbers of giant pandas is about 1.16:1.
24. How long are the feet of a giant panda?
Answer: The panda’s foot length is 12-20 cm.
25. How many toes does a panda have on its feet?
Answer: The panda has 5 toes on its front and rear feet, and its front foot also has a pseudo-thumb made of a specialized radial sesamoid bone. This "pseudo-thumb" helps them grasp the bamboo stem tightly and eat bamboo flexibly.
26. How come the tails of newborn panda cubs are so long?
Answer: The ancestors of pandas are carnivores. From birth to adulthood, the cubs carry more of the characteristics of their ancestors-long tails. During the growth and development process of pandas from small to large, the tail will slowly stop growing, and the tail of adult pandas will be relatively shorter.
27. Why does the panda tail becomes shorter as they grow up?
Answer: From birth to adulthood, the length of a panda's tail increases very little compared to its body, but its width mainly increases. Compared with the body length and huge size of adult giant pandas, the flat tail is not too prominent, causing many people to misunderstand that pandas have no tails.
28. What is the use of the panda’s short and wide tail?
Answer: The tail of the panda is relatively short, about 10-12 cm in length, fluffy, and usually close to the body. When secretions are secreted from the tail glands, perianal glands and vulva, the panda can use its tail as a brush to mark information everywhere.