GIGANT PANDA

The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning "black and white cat-
foot") is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by
its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.
Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo. Pandas in the wild
will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents or
carrion. In captivity they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or
bananas along with specially prepared feed.

The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province,
but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Due to farming, deforestation and other
development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.

The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. A 2007 report shows 239 pandas
living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Wild population estimates
vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild,while a
2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to
3,000. Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise.However,
the IUCN does not believe there is enough certainty yet to reclassify the species from
Endangered to Vulnerable.

While the dragon has historically served as China's national emblem, in recent decades the

panda has also served as an emblem for the country. Its image appears on a large number of
modern Chinese commemorative silver, gold, and platinum coins. Though the panda is often
assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather
than predation
 GORILLAS

Gorillas are the largest of the primates. They are ground-dwelling and

predominantly herbivorous. They inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into
two species and (still under debate as of 2008) either four or five subspecies. The DNA of
gorillas is highly similar to that of a human, between 95 and 99% depending on what is
counted, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the
two chimpanzee species.

Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forests in Africa. Although their range
covers a small percentage of Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The Mountain
Gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in
altitude from 2,200–4,300 metres (7,200–14,100 ft). Lowland Gorillas live in dense forests
and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with Western Lowland Gorillas living in
Central West African countries and Eastern Lowland Gorillas living in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.

Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk bipedally for short
distances while carrying food or in defensive situations. Adult males range in height 1.65–1.75
metres (5 ft 5 in–5 ft 9 in), and in weight 140–200 kg (310–440 lb). Adult females are often
half the size of a silverback, averaging about 1.4 metres (4 ft 7 in) tall and 100 kg (220 lb).
Occasionally, a silverback of over 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) and 230 kg (510 lb) has been
recorded in the wild. Obese gorillas in captivity have reached a weight of 270 kg (600
lb).Gorillas have a facial structure which is described as mandibular prognathism, that is,
theirmandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla.

The Eastern Gorilla is more darkly colored than the Western Gorilla, with the Mountain Gorilla
being the darkest of all. The Mountain Gorilla also has the thickest hair. The Western Lowland
Gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in
lowland forests are more slender and agile than the more bulky Mountain Gorilla. Almost all
gorillas share the same blood type  and, like humans, have individual finger prints.
 GIANT ARMADILLO 

The Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus), colloquially Tatou, Ocarro, Tatu-canastra or Tatú

Carreta, is the largest living species of armadillo. It was once found widely throughout
the tropical forests of eastern South America and now ranges throughout varied habitat as far
south as northernArgentina. This species is considered vulnerable to extinction.

These armadillos typically weigh around 28 kilograms (62 lb) when fully grown, but a
32 kilograms (71 lb) specimen has been weighed in the wild. A typical length is 89 cm (35 in),
of which a third to two-fifths is likely to be accounted for by the tail.

The Giant Armadillo prefers termites and some ants as prey, and often consumes the entire
population of a termite mound. It has been known to also prey upon worms, larvae and larger
creatures, as spiders and snakes, also plants. 

The Giant Armadillo was classified as Endangered (EN — A1cd) on the World Conservation
Union's Red List in 2002, and is listed under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) of
theConvention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.