Panda bears usually live in huge humid forests and high mountains. Regularly in these environments there is an appropriate climatological stability that allows the development of bamboo trees, which is their main food. Today about 1.600 panda bears occupy more than 20.000 square kilometers of habitat. You will be able to acquire more knowledge about the Panda Bear Habitat in this article.
All about the Panda Bear Habitat
The panda bear is a huge mammal endowed with singular beauty and weighing an average of 100 to 115 kilograms. It is an omnivorous eating creature, that is, its diet is made up of any kind of organic matter, whether of a vegetable or animal nature. However, if you have wondered where the panda bear lives, you should know that it is a species native to Asia and can be found in the mountains of the central region of China and in Tibet, it can reach altitudes of up to 3.000 meters.
This animal is one of the most beautiful that we can get on the entire planet, which is why it is so striking for anyone. So that you can learn more about the habitat in which the panda bear regularly lives, we invite you to discover them by continuing to read the following paragraphs.
Global Distribution
It has been known that this variety of bear lived in Burma, Vietnam and in the eastern part of China, even populating the north of Beijing. It is important to clarify that it was possible to get to know that this was the original distribution of the panda bear, precisely because fossil remains of this creature were found in the geographical regions previously mentioned.
Unfortunately, and as was mentioned at the beginning, today the panda bear only resides in the central area of China and Tibet. In this way, when asked "where does the panda bear live", the answer is that it currently lives in China and Tibet.
How is your habitat?
The habitat that allows the panda bear to fully develop has the relevant characteristic of not suffering climatic changes, that is, both the temperature and the climatic state remain stable throughout the year. The climatic stability that favors these bears can be achieved among other regions, in the province of Sichuan, whose mountains have heights that vary from 1.300 to 3.500 meters.
Indeed, this climate is extremely favorable for the growth of bamboo, which is the primary food within the panda's diet, which requires consuming about 12 kilos of bamboo per day. In these places it is required that there is an appropriate level of humidity and that they are cool regions. All this results in areas heavily populated by pines and other conifers.
The areas in which there is a dense forest make up an ideal environment for these creatures since they usually seek to climb trees to stay hidden. In general, they usually live in the vicinity of eucalyptus forests since they also feed on this plant to a great extent.
Keep in mind that the panda bear is an opportunistic animal by definition and will regularly seek to live in the vicinity of where it can get food. Additionally, in these huge forests there are usually no predators, which allows these mammals to feel safer.
Sichuan Nature Reserve
Sichuan Province can be considered as the panda sanctuary, since it has been estimated that more than 30% of the panda population resides in this place. It is an area that includes up to seven vital natural reserves so that this animal species can reproduce and remain protected.
Although it is an area whose approximate surface is 9.245 square kilometers and which has an abundant flora and, therefore, a constant source of food for the panda, we must bear in mind that the reproduction of this species in captivity is an extremely complex process. , which is an aggravating circumstance when we all know that the panda bear is at risk of disappearing.
Food
Although it is part of the order of carnivores, the panda is a creature of a majority herbivorous intake, since it usually eats, almost exclusively, about thirty varieties of bamboo cane (99% of its diet consists of bamboo ). It has also been known to use insects and eggs as a source of protein. It is likely that their diet also includes rodents and young musk deer.
As a legacy of its carnivorous ancestors, the panda's digestive system is not fully adequate to absorb the cellulose molecules contained in bamboo, requiring it to gobble up 12 to 38 kilograms of this tree each day, a task that can take up to fourteen hours. . Its powerful teeth and jaws are adapted to crush bamboo trunks in order to reach its pulp.
Although a large consumption of bamboo entails an enormous consumption of water (40% of the weight of bamboo is water, a figure that reaches 90% in the shoots), the panda often drinks from streams or snow that has already melted .
In danger of extinction
It has been estimated that there are just over 1.000 giant pandas living in the wild. It is also estimated that some of them are on display in zoos and circuses and, to complicate the situation, they do not reproduce easily in captivity, which is why the panda bear is considered an endangered species.
The current Chinese legislation applies severe penalties to any type of attack on the panda bear, however, this creature continues to be attacked by poachers. Fortunately, in 2005, 25 offspring that were born in captivity managed to survive, despite this the current condition of the species presents a high risk of extinction.
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