The giant panda (scientific name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca),

sometimes referred to as the black-and-white cat-foot, is a

mammal belonging to the bear family, or Ursidae. The
Ailuropodinae is the oldest family of the most primitive
lineage of bears and the fossils of the oldest ancestral
panda, Ailuropoda lufengensesis, which are found in
southern China, are about 8 million years old. Comparative
blood-protein tests and recent molecular-genetic analysis
have indicated that, while the giant panda branched off
independently on the evolutionary tree, it is indeed closer to
the bear family than to the raccoon. The Giant Panda is
believed to be not only a genuine member of the bear family,
but also the only living representative of the family
Ailuropoda that is known to exist.

Altho
ugh the panda bear lives wild in a very restricted
geographical area of China, it is the symbol of the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) and also an internationally protected
species. The
existence of this
puzzling animal was
first revealed in
1869 when a French
missionary
naturalist, Pere Jean
Pierre Armand
David, astonished
fellow scientists by
sending back to
Paris a description,
pelt and skeleton of
a new species he
named Ursus
melanoleucus or
"black white bear".
He concluded that they more closely resembled those of a
much smaller animal known to occupy the same territory: the
red panda which looked like a cross between a raccoon and
a fox, but revealed its primary ancestry with a raccoon-like
body and facial stripes and long ringed tail. The stronghold
of the Giant Panda is the formidable vastness of the Easter
Himalayas close to the Chinese-Tibetan border, a vast
wilderness of jagged peaks thrusting 20,000 feet in the air
above cavernous valleys and torrential mountain streams.
Panda Bears Facts

Like bears, giant

pandas are basically
heavy ponderous
land creatures. The
giant panda reaches
a length from 120 to
190 centimeters and
the adult weight
varies from 75 to
130 kilograms. Like
many bears, panda
bears can climb
trees to escape
danger or for a quick
nap, and are
particularly adept at
climbing when
young.

Although it had long

been believed that
bamboo shoot
comprised the entire
panda diet, this was
proved to be false
by animal bones
found in the
digestive system of
dead animals. In
fact, the giant panda
will consume small
animals and birds,
and also carrion that it might come across. It is not the
cuddly creature that most believe it to be.

Panda Bears live alone except when breeding and the

female generally produces one offspring in winter although
twins are not uncommon. The panda's odd markings are still
something of a mystery. According to one theory, under
certain conditions of contrasting light and shadow on winter
snow, the black and white markings act as camouflage,
though "beishung" has few enemies to fear in its mountain
retreat. Although it was once thought that the giant panda
population did not exceed 150 to 200 individuals, more
recent estimates have put the figure at several thousand
animals.

What is black and white and black and white and black and
white?

Pandas symbolize the diversity and tenacity of life and they

does not realize that are on the brink of extinction. Just as
humans are the cause of its decline, only humans can now
prevent it from ceasing to exist altogether.