Journal De Bruxelles - Did you know everything about panda bears?

Did you already know everything about the cute panda bears? Here we tell you a few important things you may not have known about pandas.

Do pandas have a second thumb?
The panda has actually developed a second thumb during evolution. The reason: the extended carpal bone enables it to hold bamboo poles better. The rest of its body is also perfectly adapted to its diet: Its oesophagus, for example, is lined with horn - so the sharp-edged pieces of bamboo cannot scratch it when it swallows.

18 kilos of bamboo - and then what?
Eating and sleeping fill almost the whole day. Sounds good, but he also has to eat a huge mountain of up to 18 kilos of bamboo every day. The bamboo is so low in calories and nutrients that the panda neither moves quickly nor engages in particularly intensive activities - apart from eating and, well, the opposite. The panda also produces ten kilograms of faeces every day.

Bear, dog, cat - what is the panda?
The panda belongs to the Ursidae family (large bears). In Chinese, however, it is called a big bear cat. Its scientific name (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) provides clarification: black and white cat-footed panda. Although it is not as fleet-footed as a cat, it can see just as well at night as it has pupils similar to those of a cat.

Why are pandas black and white?
Camouflage, warmth or fashion? It's a mystery: from deterring enemies to camouflage in the snow-covered bamboo slopes to thermoregulation, there is much debate among scientists.

Pandas only eat bamboo? Not quite...
Pandas are flexitarians. Although the panda is a carnivore, its diet is largely vegetarian. And yes, 99 per cent of their diet consists of bamboo. It also eats herbs such as buckthorn and gentian. It also eats caterpillars and small vertebrates that come across its nose.

How many pandas are there in the wild?
In the 1970s, there were barely more than a thousand animals. Today, thanks to effective conservation work, there are once again around 1860 pandas in the wild, although they only inhabit a fraction of their original territory. Only a maximum of 250 individuals live in each individual area. Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate. They only migrate to lower-lying and therefore somewhat warmer regions.

How do pandas communicate?
Pandas use a wide variety of sounds to express themselves. When mating, you can hear a chirping, a "honking" when they feel uncomfortable. They can also bleat like a goat - this is their way of making friendly contact. A loud bark is intended to warn an enemy. When pandas scream, they are in pain or want to be subdued.

Poaching? Death penalty in China!
Pandas are no longer hunted today because there is virtually no market since poaching pandas is severely penalised - in China even with the death penalty. However, pandas still fall victim to hunters because they die in traps made of wire snares that were actually set up to hunt other animals.

And if you don't love pandas yet, just watch our video and you'll be amazed at what a panda can do...!