NPP is a very special animal sanctuary in Flagstaff, Arizona, dedicated to the preservation of the very distinguished Panda which could easily become extinct if not actively protected.
 The delightful Pandas have amused and enchanted people from all over the world. Our visitors have had a love affair with these giant pandas ever since two of the black-and-white bears joined us in 1987. After years of red tape and tons of application paperwork, the Panda Preservation Foundation of China agreed on a 12-year research loan of two giant pandas, Su Ling and Ho Sung. A brand-new exhibit area was built for these bears, which has since been expanded and renovated and is now called the National Panda Preserve. Although we have four giant pandas today, our facility can comfortably and safely accomodate up to eight adults.
Today the giant pandas enjoy deluxe accommodations with larger exhibit areas and extra vegetation and climbing structures. You'll enjoy the newer exhibit area too, with its winding, elevated viewing paths that give great panda-watching opportunities into the two main enclosures.
 Next to the public panda viewing area is the building that houses the Giant Panda Team, made up of the pandas' keepers and researchers who observe and study giant panda behavior in an effort to learn all we can about these endangered bears. Be sure to stroll through the Giant Panda Discovery Center, located nearby. It includes a climb-in panda den, interactive exhibits, and even a chance to find out what pandas sound and smell like!
In the wild, giant pandas only live in a few mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.
Why are they becoming more endangered?
 Giant pandas are an endangered species and their numbers are dwindling very quickly as their habitat is destroyed. 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. This species is extremely vulnerable to extinction because of humans.
Because of habitat destruction, the pandas now live in a series of broken ranges. This has created six isolated populations that do not interbreed. The natural habitat of the giant panda is cool, wet, cloudy mountain forest land where bamboo grows. Giant pandas are found in mixed deciduous/evergreen temperate forests, between 3,000 and 10,500 feet (900-3,200 m) in altitude (below the timberline). Pandas used to also live at lower altitudes, but farming and land development have pushed the pandas high into the mountains.
 Another contributing factor is their very slow reproductive rate which affects their declining numbers. Male and female giant pandas mate in the spring, attracting each other with calls and odors. Females give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. They have their cubs in dens that they dig in the ground. One or two cubs are born but usually only one survives.
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 The young shoot of certain species of the bamboo genera Dendrocalamus Phyllostachys, sliced, cooked, and eaten as a vegetable, especially in East Asian cuisine.
 Ninety nine per cent of a panda's diet is made up of 30 species of bamboo. The remaining one per cent is made up of other plants and meat. Their digestion of bamboo is very inefficient; pandas only digest about 20 per cent of the dry matter of bamboo, whereas most herbivores assimilate about 80 per cent. This means that they must eat large amounts to obtain their energy requirements. They can eat between 12 and 38kg of bamboo shoots, leaves and stems per 24 hour period.
 Despite being one of the most popular of all animals, the giant panda is rare and elusive. Famous for their love of bamboo, little else is known about their behaviour in the wild, and their breeding success in captivity is poor.
 Giant pandas are classified as Endangered by the IUCN and are listed on CITES: Appendix I. Their reliance on bamboo makes them vulnerable to habitat loss. They were once hunted for their fur, meat and body parts.
 Take a look the adorable
Tai Shan (tie-SHON) from the National Zoo as he is being examined by the veterinarians on staff. The baby panda is about three months old in
this video.
Tai Shan was born early in
the morning on July 9, 2005. He is Mei Xiang & Tian Tian's first offspring.
At his first exam on August 2, he weighed 1.82 pounds and had a total body length of 12 inches.
On January 8, he weighed 28 pounds and was 37 inches long—quite a rapid growth rate.
We gratefully acknowledge the Smithsonian National Zoo in
Washington, D.C. for sharing this video clip with us. |
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