The Giant PandaThe giant panda is a bear. It lives in south central China. Although it is classified with other bears as carnivorous, the pandas diet is 99% bamboo. Appearance. Giant pandas are covered with fur. Their fur is black and white. The black fur is on their ears, around their eyes, on their legs and on their shoulders. They are about 3 feet tall at the shoulder when they are standing on all four legs. They are about 6 feet long. Males weigh up to 110 kg while females weigh less than 100 kg.Living areas (Habitat). Wild giant pandas live in the mountains of central China. They live in forests with tall trees. They eat bamboo that grows under the trees. The weather is rainy and misty in these mountain forests. There are thick clouds almost all the time.Food and water. In the wild, pandas eat a lot of bamboo. They eat as much as 18 kg of bamboo every day. They spend 10 to 16 hours every day looking for food and eating it. Bamboo is a grass. Sometimes giant pandas eat other grasses though. They also eat little rodents and baby deer. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, vegetables and fruit. Giant pandas get a lot of water from the bamboo they eat. They also drink from the streams and rivers in the mountain.Population. The giant panda is an endangered species. That means there is a very small number of pandas living in the world nowadays. In 2013, it was estimated that there were less than 2,500 mature giant pandas living in the wild and this number will continue to decline if measures are not taken to preserve it.

The Polar BearThe polar bear is a carnivorous bear whose native habitat is the Arctic Circle. Its a large bear with body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures.Appearance. The polar bear is the largest living species of a carnivore on earth. An adult male polar bear weighs up to 350 700 kg while an adult female may weigh from 150-250 kg. Its height is around 4 feet 4 inches and its length from 7 to 9 feet long. Its body is insulated in blubber, a thick layer of fat and is covered with white fur which usually yellows as it grows old. Habitat. The polar bears native habitat is within the Arctic Circle which includes the Arctic Ocean and the seas and countries around it. It spends many months at sea. It usually looks for areas where sea ice meets water to hunt for seals to eat. When the ice melts in the summer, polar bears go to land and wait until the sea water freezes again.Food. Polar bears hunt seals to eat. Mature bears tend to eat only the skin and blubber of the seal while younger bears eat the meat. When sea ice is unfrozen and they cannot hunt for seals, they have also been observed to eat birds, eggs, rodents and crabs and even other polar bears. And although not a significant part of their diet, they may also eat plants like berries and roots. Population. In 2008, there are around 20,000 to 25,000 remaining polar bears in the world. Although far from being extinct, the polar bear is considered a vulnerable species because its population is declining.

Flow Diagram for Comparison and Contrast Essay

SIMILARITIESBody Covering both fur

DIFFERENCESMain food - sealDIFFERENCESMain food - bamboo

POLAR BEARGIANT PANDA