As a panda lover, you can agree with me that pandas have a unique lifestyle.
This is one of the reasons the world tries to save them. But do you want to know the many ways these creatures are unique?
Let’s discuss more below!
Table of Contents
- 1. Pandas are Peaceful Animals
- 2. They are Skilled Climbers
- 3. Newborn Pandas are Pink
- 4. Giant Pandas Have an Extra Digit on Their Paws
- 5. Pandas Eat Almost the Whole Day
- 6. Pandas Have a Unique Fur Color
- 7. These Bears Do Not Hibernate in Winter
- 8. They Survive Entirely on Bamboo
- 9. These Giants are Tiny at Birth
- 10. Male Pandas Often Do Handstands to Pee Upside Down
- 11. Pandas are Native to China Only
- 12. All Pandas are Born Stars
- 13. Pandas are Naturally Entertaining!
- 14. Giant Pandas are China’s National Treasures
- 15. They are Carnivores that Eat Plants
- 16. Pandas Often Fall From Trees for Fun
- 17. Female Pandas Have Only About “1-3 Days” in a Year to Get Pregnant
- 18. Pandas’ Eyes are Different From Every Other Bear
- 19. Pandas Act Slow, But They are Fast!
- 20. They are the Face of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- 21. They Prefer Living Alone
- 22. Panda Moms Can Only Care For One Cub at a Time
- 23. They Can Swim So Well
- 24. Pandas Coats are Great for Camouflage
- 25. Panda Moms are the Best
- 26. Pandas are Born Without Any External Genitalia
- 27. Panda Cubs Become Independent Quickly
- In Summary:
1. Pandas are Peaceful Animals
Naturally, these creatures are calm and peaceful. They mind their business and try to avoid trouble as much as they can.
However, you do not want to mess with them as they equally can be very dangerous.
2. They are Skilled Climbers
Never mind a panda’s chubby looks. creatures will shock you with their climbing skills
Interestingly, they start to climb trees at a very young age, about 6 months old.
3. Newborn Pandas are Pink
Yes, the black and white pandas you know have a very different color at birth. They appear pink all through with no patterns.
It takes about 3 weeks for them to start to develop their beautiful black and white fur.
RECOMMENDED READING: WHAT DOES A NEWBORN GIANT PANDA LOOK LIKE?
4. Giant Pandas Have an Extra Digit on Their Paws
Unlike other bears, giant pandas have what is called a false thumb (or pseudo thumb). It adds to their five true fingers making a total of six digits on each paw.
In addition, it helps giant pandas handle bamboo when eating and also climbing trees.
5. Pandas Eat Almost the Whole Day
That’s right! Giant pandas spend so much time in a day eating mostly bamboo. This is because bamboo is very low in nutrients.
And for this reason, pandas will have to eat a lot of it in a day to meet their daily nutritional needs.
READ ALSO – WHY DO PANDAS SPEND SO MUCH TIME EATING
6. Pandas Have a Unique Fur Color
Now, this is one of the unique things about giant pandas. No doubt, it’s very easy to recognize a panda through its beautiful coat.
In addition, the black and white color and pattern of their fur greatly add to the panda’s cuteness.
7. These Bears Do Not Hibernate in Winter
Unlike bears, they cannot rely on stored fats for nutrition during hibernation.
Bamboo is important for pandas’ survival so they can’t take long breaks from eating it. Hence, they do not hibernate.
8. They Survive Entirely on Bamboo
Pandas love bamboo a lot! Surviving both in the wild and in captivity depends greatly on their bamboo diet.
Interestingly, these creatures can’t survive on any food other than their low-nutrient bamboo.
READ IN FULL – WHY DO PANDAS ONLY EAT BAMBOO?
9. These Giants are Tiny at Birth
Giant panda newborns are one of the smallest mammalian newborns in the world. These babies are about 1/900th the size of their mothers.
They are as tiny as 7 inches (18 cm), which is similar to a stick of butter.
10. Male Pandas Often Do Handstands to Pee Upside Down
Funnily, they do this to mark their scents, especially on trees. Staying in an upsidedown position allows their pee to reach higher areas of the tree trunks.
It’s a territorial behavior meant to keep other males away from their area and increase their chance of attracting females.
READ ALSO – WHY DO PANDAS HANDSTAND?
11. Pandas are Native to China Only
Giant pandas are native to only China. This means they don’t live naturally in the wild in any other country.
China happens to be the country with a habitat that is most suitable for giant pandas’ survival.
12. All Pandas are Born Stars
Pandas are very famous animals right from birth. Interestingly, the world treats every newborn panda like royalty even till they become adults.
In zoos, the crowd wouldn’t mind waiting on a cue just to see a newborn panda baby cub.
13. Pandas are Naturally Entertaining!
Absolutely! Just watching pandas can be very interesting. Most especially, their clumsiness makes them natural comedians.
Pandas, whether newborns or adults, won’t need to do so much to entertain you!
14. Giant Pandas are China’s National Treasures
Understand that these star attractions only belong to China. In addition, they are China’s best diplomatic gifts. This is because pandas symbolize peace!
15. They are Carnivores that Eat Plants
As crazy as it sounds, pandas are made to eat meat. Their digestive system is naturally carnivorous.
However, they chose to eat mostly bamboo and that’s something very unique about them.
ALSO READ: ARE PANDAS CARNIVORES HERBIVORES OR OMNIVORES?
16. Pandas Often Fall From Trees for Fun
On many occasions, pandas fall off trees with no issues owing to their fat nature. These incidents can sometimes be accidental but pandas mostly do it for fun.
What’s more, they rather feel embarrassed than worry about the pain.
17. Female Pandas Have Only About “1-3 Days” in a Year to Get Pregnant
Interestingly, female pandas only have a few days to get pregnant in a year. Hence, they have little chance of getting pregnant in a year.
Furthermore, this contributes to the low population of giant pandas today.
18. Pandas’ Eyes are Different From Every Other Bear
Interestingly, all species of bears have similar eyes with round pupils. However, giant pandas are an exception.
Panda bears’ pupils are like vertical slits just like that of domestic cats.
19. Pandas Act Slow, But They are Fast!
Most of the time, pandas move slowly which makes them appear lazy. However, these creatures will shock you with their speed in eating and climbing up trees. Above all, pandas can also run fast!
20. They are the Face of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Amazingly, the logo of the WWF is an image of a panda. And Chi Chi, one of the most famous giant pandas in the world, was the inspiration behind the creation of the first-ever WWF logo.
Additionally, the WWF logo has had a few changes over the years but still maintains the image of these unique creatures.
21. They Prefer Living Alone
Naturally, pandas are loners. They prefer to live and survive alone without other pandas.
However, you can still see pandas together mostly during mating times or when females are raising their cubs.
22. Panda Moms Can Only Care For One Cub at a Time
Owing to their low-nutrient diet, female pandas can only nurse and raise one cub.
Hence, if a panda gives birth to twins, only one of the cubs will survive. However, with the help of humans, twin panda cubs can survive and grow together.
23. They Can Swim So Well
Swimming is another unique ability of the panda bear. Again, the pandas’ chubby body will make you think otherwise.
Although they rarely swim, they are great swimmers just like every other bear.
24. Pandas Coats are Great for Camouflage
Their black and white coat patterns help them camouflage in different ways. On one hand, the black markings are great at camouflaging these creatures in shady areas.
Additionally, the white body parts of their coat help them to hide when it’s snowy in their habitat.
25. Panda Moms are the Best
Female giant pandas give a lot of attention to their babies in the first few months. Amazingly, they can stay up to a month without eating just to focus on nurturing and protecting their babies.
26. Pandas are Born Without Any External Genitalia
It’s hard to tell if a newborn panda is a male or female by just looking at it. This is because their sex organs develop later on when they are about 7 months old.
27. Panda Cubs Become Independent Quickly
That’s right! Pandas are smart and quickly learn a lot from their moms.
So whenever they leave their moms, they don’t have any problem being on their own. This is normally about 2 years of age.
And this age is similar to an 18-year-old teenager in human years.
In Summary:
To sum up, there are many unique things about giant pandas.
And from all these unique panda facts, here are my top 7 favorites!
- Pandas love bamboo!
- They might be fat or chubby but can climb and swim pretty well.
- Pandas fall from trees for fun.
- Giant pandas are pink and tiny at birth, not the black and white giants we know!
- These creatures have only 3 days per year to make babies!
- Interestingly, the image of the WWF logo is a panda!
- Pandas are entertaining. They have a clumsy and very funny lifestyle.
There are just many funny things they do! Here are the Top 13 Hilarious Facts About Giant Pandas
