Panda bear fact # 2The body shape of the giant panda is similar to that of other bear species, such as the Brown bear and the American black bear. The giant panda will typically reach a length of 4-6 feet, and have a shoulder height of 2-3 feet when it is standing on all four legs. Female giant panda bears are smaller than male giant panda bears and will stay around 220 pounds, while the males weigh up to 250 pounds. Panda bear fact #3Unlike most other bears found in temperate regions, the giant panda bear does not hibernate. Panda bears living at high altitudes will sometimes travel further down during the winter to find warmer habitats. Panda bear fact # 4The giant panda bear is usually a solitary dweller, but recent research have showed us that pandas sometimes meet outside the breeding period and small panda groups can share a large home range with each other. During the breeding period, a female panda can mate with more than one male, and male pandas can mate with several females. The males will usually compete with each other when they find a female in heat. Panda bear fact # 5The giant panda bear will become sexually mature when it is 4-5 years old. The mating season begins in the middle of March and lasts until the beginning of May, but during this period the female panda bear will only be in heat for 3-4 days. The normal gestation period for a panda bear is 97-163 days. The female panda will often give birth to two young pandas, but it is unusual for both of them to survive in the wild. A newborn panda bear is helpless and needs its mother’s attention to survive. It will weigh no more than 3-6 ounces and be no bigger than the size of a stick of butter. In addition to being very small, it is hairless and its eyes are closed. Kangaroos, opossums and other marsupial animals also give birth to small and helpless offspring, but unlike these animals the female panda has no pouch to protect its offspring in. The eyes of the young panda bear will stay closed until the panda is 6-8 weeks old, and it will take up to 3 months before the young panda is reasonably mobile. After roughly 12 months the young panda will be nutritionally weaned, but it can take up to two years before it has been socially weaned.
Copyright 2005 panda-bear.info. Left header picture copyright Brad Cassagne
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