Panda

text: Kyra (Northville, USA) , drawing: Gaby (Oak Park, USA)

Giant pandas spend their time alone and their diet is almost entirely bamboo. Bamboo is very low in nutrients, that's why they eat so much. Pandas are an endangered species because of habitat loss and a very low birthrate. There are only about 1400 giant pandas left in the wild! Another problem is poaching, even in China, where there is a very low rate of poaching; it's still effective against the population of the giant panda.
They're babies are 90 to 130 grams. That's about 1/600 of a full grown panda! They can grow 4 to six feet in length. When a giant panda is born, it is entirely helpless and is 1/900th of a full grown panda in size.

Giant pandas have to spend 10 to 16 hours foraging and finding food because their digestive system is more like a carnivores than an omnivores and most of the food they eat comes out as waste.
Almost all giant pandas are lazy, they spend most of their time sleeping, resting or eating!

Giant panda babies are pink in appearance, but over time they grow fur which is black and white. The black fur appears in little patches which cover the eyes, nose, ears, and limbs. The white fur goes on everywhere else. Males are larger and heavier then females, they weigh up to 250 pounds while females rarely reach past 220 pounds.