Chinese Pandas

Pandas are unusual animals in Asia. They

have white, chubby bodies with black legs
and a black band across their shoulders.
They also have white faces with black
patches around each eyes, black ears and
short tails. Like other bears, they can
stand on their hind legs. Red pandas have
long, soft fur and bushy tails with rings. A
dark reddish streak comes down from
each eye. Both Giant pandas and Red
pandas eat bamboo. Red pandas may
also eat fruits and berries as well as
bamboo. Pandas have an extra thumb
that grows from the wrist of each front
paw. They use their extra thumb to hold
bamboo. Pandas are in danger of dying
out in the wild. They are threatened
mainly by destruction of forests. Pandas
are protected by law in China. China also
has protected areas of forests to save

wild pandas. Panda is the name of two

Asian mammals. The Giant panda is a
large, black and white bear. The red
panda, also called the lesser panda, is
reddish brown and much smaller. Both
pandas live in bamboo forests on upper
slopes. Unlike most plant-eating animals,
pandas have a bad digestive system that
cannot easily change plants into energy.
As a result, pandas must eat large
quantities of bamboo. For example, giant
pandas eat 85 pounds of bamboo shoots
per day.