Giant Pandas

Research and Lessons

Hopefully, you'll be able to find answers/information for the mini-books from books you check out from the library. However, if you aren't able to get any books about giant pandas, or if you are unable to locate certain information to complete a mini-book, you should find it below.

Brown Bears vs. Panda Bears Venn Diagram characteristics unique to panda bears *cat-like eyes (with slits) *front paws have an opposable thumb Panda bears can't do some things that other bears do including walking on their hind legs and roaring. Giant pandas are similar to other bears in their general looks, the way they walk and climb, and their skull characteristics. Question Answer Matchbooks 1. What do the Chinese call Pandas? "large bear-cats" 2. How many hours each day does a Panda eat? 12! 3. What is a panda's habitat like? damp, misty forests of bamboo and conifers, in altitudes above 4,000 feet (1,200 meters)

Panda Family Female pandas are called sows, males are called boars, and the young are called cubs.

Panda Anatomy (see Panda Information at Enchanted Learning)

Range In the wild, giant pandas only live in six small forest fragments found in mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Classification Kingdom Animalia (the animals)

Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata (animals with backbones) Class Mammalia (warm-blooded animals with hair and mammary glands) Order Carnivora Family Ursidae (Bears) Genus and Species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning "cat feet black white"

Let's Make Some Noise! Pandas have eleven different calls. They make a bleating sound similar to the sound a lamb or a goat kid would make. It's a friendly sound, a greeting. They also honk, huff, bark, and growl; young cubs croak and squeal.

Numbers There are roughly 1,000-1,500 pandas living in the wild (in China). There are about 120 living in zoos and breeding centers around the world. Endangerment Reasons why pandas are in danger of extinction: 1. Low reproductive rate— Pandas like to be by themselves most of the year, and they have a very short breeding season when a male will look for a female to mate with. Females give birth to one or two cubs, which are very dependent on their mothers during the first few years of life. In the wild, mother pandas will care for only one of the young. In panda facilities in China, keepers help to hand raise any twin cubs. One baby is left with the mother and the keepers switch the twins every few days so each one gets care and milk directly from the mother. 2. Bamboo shortages— When bamboo plants reach maturity, they flower and produce seeds, and then the mature plant dies. The seeds grow slowly into plants large enough for pandas to eat. Giant pandas can eat 25 different types of bamboo, but they usually eat only the 4 or 5 kinds that grow in their home range. The unusual thing about bamboo is that all of the plants of one species growing in an area will bloom and die at the same time. When those plants die, pandas move to another area. But now, with humans taking up much of the panda’s habitat, pandas are often unable to move to another area and may face starvation. 3. Habitat destruction— China has more than one billion people. As people build more cities and farms and use more natural resources, giant pandas lose their

homes. 4. Hunting— When hunters set snares for other animals, like musk deer, the traps often kill pandas instead.

Baby Giant Pandas Other than marsupials, they are the smallest newborn mammal. Little giant pandas are white and about the size of a stick of butter at birth weighing 4-6 ounces (lighter than an apple!), and they're hairless and helpless. The panda mother gives great care to her tiny cub, usually cradling it in one paw and holding it close to her chest. For several days after birth, the mother does not leave the den, not even to eat or drink! Even though a cub receives great care, many young pandas do not survive. Birth- cry when they are hungry or need care One Month old- their coats take on adult coloring Six-Seven Weeks Old- their eyes open Three Months Old- they follow their mother Six Months Old- they begin eating bamboo Nine Months Old- they are weaned from mother's milk Panda cubs grow very slowly. They stay with their mother for one to two years. They are fully grown in 2-4 years.

Diet Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears which includes (almost exclusively) two types of bamboo (arrow and umbrella). In order to survive, a panda needs 40-80 pounds of food each day! This is due to the fact that bamboo is low in nutrition. Bamboo is also hard to digest. A giant panda's throat and stomach have tough linings to protect them from the toughness of the bamboo. Other than bamboo, giant pandas also eat grasses, bulbs, fruit, some insects, rodents, and carrion. At zoos, pandas are offered bamboo, carrots, yams, and special leaf eater biscuits made of grain and packed with vitamins and minerals.

Answers for Comparison Book (panda answers provided) 1. bamboo 2. less than a pound (or 4-8 ounces)

3. 35 years old 4. apple 5. about 1,500 6. 12

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use. Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically.

© Homeschool Share

Low

Rep

roductiv

e Rate

Hun

ting

Habita

t Destruction

Bam

boo S

hortages

Cut book out as one piece. Fold each triangle under. Lift and write an explanation of each reason. When you are finished, you should fold the book in half (on the solid black center line) and paste the back of the book into your lapbook. Use answers provided on next page for a younger student to cut/paste under the triangles, if desired.

When hunters set snares

for other animals the traps

often kill pandas instead.

As people build more

cities and farms and use

more natural resources,

giant pandas lose their

homes.

Females only give birth to

one or two cubs at a time.

The mother (in the wild will

only take care of only one

of the young.

All the bamboo in one ar-

ea blooms and dies at the

same time leaving the

panda without any food.

Pandas don’t have

anywhere to go to find

bamboo since so much of

their habitat has been

destroyed.

Directions: Pandas live in Asia in the country of China. Find China on the map of Asia and color it. Cut out cover piece on this page. Cut out book on next page as one piece. Fold in half. Glue cover piece on the front.

Where in the

World Can I

Find a Giant

Panda?

Kingdom

Phylum

Subphylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus &

Species

Cut book out on solid lines. Fold on dotted. Glue the back of the flap book down to the inside of the cover book. Let your student write the correct classification information behind each flap.

Giant Panda

Classification

Information

Fold paper in half on dotted line. Cut around panda bear shape. Use shape book to record information about the sounds that panda bears make.

My

Story

Cut books out. Fold matchbook style.

How many

hours each

day does a

panda eat?

What do the

Chinese

people

call pandas?

What is a panda’s habitat like?

coloring

eyes size

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Anatomy

paws

teeth fur

______________

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Cut out all the shapes (seven total). Let your student record information about as many different aspects of the panda’s anatomy as you desire. When finished, stack together with cover (“Anatomy”) on top and attach a brass fastener where indicated. If you don’t have a brass fastener, you can simply use a staple.

Anatomy

coloring

eyes size

paws

teeth fur

Cut out all the shapes (seven total). Let your student record information about as many different aspects of the panda’s anatomy as you desire. When finished, stack together with cover (“Anatomy”) on top and attach a brass fastener where indicated. If you don’t have a brass fastener, you can simply use a staple.

How many Giant Pandas are living in

zoos?

How many Giant Pandas are living in the wild?

How many Giant Pandas are living in the world?

Cut book out on solid lines. Fold on dotted. Write answers under flaps.

Cu

t ou

t bo

ok as o

ne p

iece. Fold

in h

alf. Reco

rd in

form

atio

n ab

ou

t the gian

t pan

da’s d

iet in th

e b

oo

k.

Cu

t bo

ok o

n th

is page o

ut as o

ne p

iece. Fo

ld in

half. C

ut b

oo

ks (3) o

n th

e next p

age o

ut b

y cutti

ng o

n th

e solid

black lin

es. Let yo

ur stu

den

t write th

e nam

e for each

giant

pan

da fam

ily mem

be

r in th

e app

rop

riate b

oo

k. Fo

ld b

oo

ks in h

alf. Paste into

the b

ig bo

ok

Fam

ily

Nam

es

Father Mother Baby

Cu

t bo

ok o

ut as o

ne p

iece (do

no

t cut sh

apes ap

art). Fold

in th

irds w

ith th

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da o

n th

e cover. O

n th

e in

side

of th

e bo

ok w

rite K o

n th

e left sid

e, W o

n th

e mid

dle, an

d L o

n th

e left.

Befo

re you

start the u

nit, re

cord

wh

at you

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ent K

NO

WS o

n th

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age. A

sk you

r stud

ent w

hat h

e WA

NTS TO

LEAR

N an

d re

cord

that o

n th

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age. A

t the en

d o

f the u

nit, reco

rd w

hat yo

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den

t has LEA

RN

ED o

n th

e L page.

Cu

t ou

t bo

ok as o

ne p

iece. Fold

in h

alf on

the b

lack line. C

ut o

n th

e do

tted

lines to

form

three fl

aps. W

rite info

rmati

on

that is u

niq

ue to

the b

row

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ear u

nd

er the left

flap

, info

rmati

on

un

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e to th

e giant p

and

a bear u

nd

er the righ

t flap

, and

info

rmati

on

true ab

ou

t bo

th an

imals u

nd

er the m

idd

le flap

.

brown bear

panda bear

both

Cub

Facts

Newborn

1 month old

6-7

weeks old

3 months old

6 m

onths old

9 months old

Cu

t bo

ok o

ut as o

ne p

iece. Fold

in h

alf. Cu

t on

do

tted

lines to

form

flap

s. Cu

t ou

t cover o

n th

e previo

us p

age as o

ne p

iece. Fold

in h

alf. Glu

e the b

ack of th

e flap

bo

ok d

ow

n to

the in

side o

f the

cover b

oo

k. Let yo

ur stu

den

t write th

e correct in

form

atio

n ab

ou

t bab

y pan

das b

ehin

d each

flap

.

Glu

e this sid

e to th

e back

of th

e last pag

e on

the first

strip

Glu

e this sid

e to th

e back

of th

e last pag

e on

the

second

strip

Cu

t ou

t the th

ree strips. G

lue as in

dicate

d so

that yo

u h

ave on

e lon

g line. Fo

ld acco

rdio

n style (b

ack and

forth

, back an

d

forth

). Att

ach a p

iece o

f yard o

r ribb

on

arou

nd

the b

oo

k and

tie it in

a bo

w o

n th

e fron

t. Glu

e the b

ack do

wn

to yo

ur

lapb

oo

k. You

r stud

ent can

op

en/clo

se the b

oo

k by tyin

g/u

ntyin

g the strin

g. It will p

ull o

ut like an

accord

ion

.