Giant pandas live
in dense bamboo and coniferous enroachments at altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000
feet with heavy clouds shrouding their habitat and torrential rains with
dense mist throughout the year.Regardless of its shrinking habitat, the
old panda ways still goes on as usual like eating and sleeping. Those two
words are always in the panda's diary. Food consumptions will take the
panda the cooler higher mountains during summer and down to the warmer
south circawinter.
Pandas are active during the morning/evening with a sleep on
midday/midnight. Most of is wake time is spent foraging for its humonguos
plant diet, though it feeds on small animals occasionally. So, they are
basically classified as an omnivore (plant/meat eater) as opposed to neither
carnivore (meat eater) nor herbivore (plant eater).
Bamboo is its main all-year diet, but offers little nourishment.
Thus, a good 12 to 14 kg of shoots, stems and leaves is gobbled up daily
to compensate. Fishes, small rodents, eggs, honey, chicken and a host of
small animals is also eaten ONLY if bamboo supply is low. All these feasting
takes about 10-16 hours a day! Preference is in small and younger bamboo
shoots.Strong molars (back teeth) enables to panda to bite off the long
bamboo stems and eats them starting from the leaves.
With a thumb-like (enlarged wrist bone called a radial sesamoid)
extension on it's palm, the panda could break and hold the bamboo whilst
enjoying its meal sitting upright or relaxing on its back with dexternity
and careless ease. This thumb-like gift which is also called the "sixth-digit"
enables the panda to mimic primate eating actions by bringing the food
to its mouth rather then lowering its mouth to the food like most animals.
You don't see your dog holding food like you, right?
After a sumptous meal, the panda will clean itself like a cat,
licking its frontpaws and forearms and wiping its face with its paw.The
panda's short digestive system, though strong, is pretty unevolved and
inefficient in processing, leaving much unprocess bamboo fibers in the
panda's droppings.
After all the food, the panda will rest in caves, overhanging
rocks, stumps, trees or even on its eating haven with a variety of postures.
Panda feasting spots can be recognized by frequent droppings and eaten
bamboo stalks arranged to a nest. Sometimes, females even would breed their
young here.
Giant
panda's profile 4 
food 
