5 Facts About Pandas That Your Didn't Know

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5 Facts About Pandas

Pandas are bears that are effortless to spot. They have large black spots around the eyes over their ears, their legs, and across their backs. 

There are pandas that are in captivity all around the world! This is interesting because they lived in China, and it wasn't until 1869 that both the United States and Europe discovered these amazing animals. Pandas were like the best-kept secret in the animal world for a long time.

Here are even more facts about these special bears from China.

What Do Pandas Eat?

First, let's look at what a panda eats. It might be surprising that really 99% of a panda's diet consists of bamboo. That's right, they are herbivores. which means they eat mostly plants. However, they are able to eat me but they just prefer bamboo. Hence, they spend most of their day collecting bamboo, getting it ready, and eating it.

Pandas held in captivity more often than not eat a variety of other foods. As you can imagine It can be difficult to supply pandas with the amount of bamboo they need when they are kept in zoos.

The Cutest Animal Babies 

Secondly, we are going to learn about perhaps the cutest babies in the animal kingdom. And that is panda babies! Panda babies are called cubs. The mother panda raises the cub alone. 
The panda’s fathers go on and do their own thing.

The reason male pandas do that is that they are solitary creatures. Pandas mostly enjoy being alone. It is only infrequently that they like to be in a group.

What Is A Group Of Pandas Called?

 A group of pandas is called an embarrassment! Imagine you and your group of friends being called an embarrassment? Some people don't like this term, so they choose to call a group of pandas a bamboo of pandas. 

But the name of a group of pandas technically an embarrassment. There are actually people that are requesting to change that because they want a respectable way of saying it. There has to be a better way to call a group of pandas then using the word embarrassment.

How Long Do Pandas Sleep?

 All right, now we are going to talk about how much pandas sleep.
How many hours do you think pandas sleep per day? This might surprise you but pandas only sleep about 10 hours a day. That means pandas sleep about the same amount as most children do.

Usually, Pandas are very busy collecting food and eating. This takes up most of their waking hours. So Pandas can only fit in about 10 hours of sleep and rest.

These truly are amazing animals. We love pandas and want to make sure we defend them. Pandas were once considered an endangered species, and we don't want to repeat that time period.

As recently as the 1970s there were only about 1,000 pandas living in the wild. That's it, just 1,000. Thankfully, in 2018, the number has increased to about 1,900. The numbers of pandas have been increasing steadily.

Actually, one of the biggest challenges for pandas is their habitat has been shrinking more and more. The land that pandas call home continues to get smaller and smaller due to human activities.

Remember pandas need their space and enjoy being alone. Forest they call home for millennia have decreased substantially in recent years.

The good news is there are organizations that fight to protect not just the pandas but the habitats they call home. Thankfully, wild pandas are no longer considered endangered. 
However, pandas are still considered a threatened species which means we have to continue our efforts to protect and defend them.

Check out the World Wildlife fund to see what you can do to protect these animals.