Panda Facts

It’s funny, I never thought much about panda bears. It’s not like I am going to wonder into one anytime soon. However I have a friend who is panda crazy.  She wants me to learn one panda fact a day. Clearly I am not going to look up a new fact every day, and still today I plan to learn some things about panda bears.  It seems like a good time to share the knowledge. 

I am always intrigued by the mystery and lore that surround mysterious animals. So today I will share at least this one piece of “history” that those who believe in lore truly believe. It goes like this. All panda bears are born white, when fuzzy thin white fur and that is accurate. 

The story goes that they all used to remain white for their entire life. A young girl tried to save a panda cub from being attacked by a leopard. Of course the leopard killed the young girl instead. 

The panda bears came to the funeral to honor the girl who saved the panda cub from the leopard. They wore armbands of black ashes and they wipes their tears and hugged each other. From that time forward the markings came as the cubs grew. It’s a nice story and here are a few facts.

When pandas are born they are white. As their markings comes the black around the eyes of a panda are in the shape of a circle. As they grow the shape changes to the shape of the tear drop that we recognize.

Pandas are pudgy. A panda’s bones are twice as heavy as the bones of other animals the same size. They can stand for short periods of time on their back legs, walking upright is harder. Their short legs just aren’t strong enough.

What do pandas eat? Bamboo, and about eighty pounds of it a day. It’s a good thing they like it!

One of the saddest facts I found on my first little excursion is that more than half of newborn pandas die from diseases or from being accidentally crushed by their mothers.