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Red panda
Giant panda
Giant pandas live in remote mountainous areas of central China in large bamboo forests. They are voracious eaters and it takes up to 12.5kg of bamboo a day to satisfy a giant panda’ s appetite. They are skilled tree climbers and good swimmers. They are solitary creatures except during mating. Panda cubs are helpless at birth and only learn to crawl at three months. They are easily distinguished by their beautiful black and white body colouring with white faces and black rimmed eyes. The giant panda is an endangered species.
The red panda is a much smaller panda growing only to the size of a house cat, 50 – 65cm length, and weighing 5.5 – 9kg. It has a large bushy tail that grows to 30 – 50cm, which it uses as a sort of blanket to keep out the chill in the mountains. Red pandas live in China, Myanmar and Nepal. They spend most of their lives in trees, even sleeping in the trees during the day. They live off bamboo as do their cousins the giant pandas but they will also eat fruit, roots and eggs. The female gives birth to up to four young, which remain in their mothers’ care for up to 90 days. Red pandas are an endangered species.
Malayan sun bear
The Malayan sun bear is the smallest bear in the world. A male adult bear only stands 1.2m when standing on its hind legs. They weigh up to 64kg. The sun bear has a uniform black coat all over except for a U-shaped golden blaze on its chest and a light-coloured muzzle. Malayan sun bears are excellent climbers using their long claws which are found on all four feet. They are omnivores, feeding on grubs, insects, honey, small mammals, birds and fruit. The Malayan sun bear is a threatened species and is found only in the tropical rain forests of China, Myanmar, Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatera and Borneo.
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