Book pages 70 and 71
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Giant Panda
Giant Pandas live in Central China. Their black and white fur is what makes them cute and special. Unfortunately, pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world.
There is an estimate of 2300 pandas still alive, living in different conditions; about 2000 in the wild and 300 in zoos around the world.
Over the last decade, many organizations from different countries have run campaigns to protect and save pandas. They say that endangering them has been caused by taking them away from their habitat and by deforestation.
A giant panda can grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh up to 150 kg. They have a bear-body and it has not been possible to explain why their fur gets the black and white look. However, their fur is of great help during cold times. It helps them keep warm, and even helps them disguise in the snow, so enemies can’t attack them.
Pandas live on bamboo; they eat up to 15 kilos of it every day! It is the reason why they look like not having too much energy as bamboo is low in nutritional value.
Their favourite, and maybe the only one, activity is roaming around looking for food and water.
Pandas can live up to 20 – 25 years in the wild and maybe 30 – 35 in zoos. They start their reproducing life at age 4 – 8. When baby pandas are born, their mums carry them for about 3 – 5 months because they are very tiny and blind. Then they stay together for one and a half to three years before they can live and survive by themselves.
