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12 Fun Facts of Giant Pandas

Giant pandas are like famous stars, having so many fans all over the world. Adorable looking with their typical white and black furs and lovely black patches around their eyes makes no one able to resist the loveliness of these cuddly mammals. And they have some little 'secrets' most panda lovers did not know but quite interesting to learn about. Check out the below lists:

1. Giant pandas only live in China.

Ones seen in other parts of the world are borrowed from China and their babies have to be sent back to China. Countries borrowing giant pandas pay China one million US dollars for each panda for a 10-year loan. Their babies have to be transferred back to China for breeding.

2. Giant Pandas are carnivores but vegetarian.

The Giant Panda is one of the best biting carnivores but 99% of its diet is bamboo. It was on the news that a wild giant panda around Chengdu sneaked into a local farmer's house and ate all the pork and sausages it cound find.As national treasures of China, the adorable thief is free of being sentenced.

3. Giant pandas' day is made up of eating and sleeping.

Giant pandas appear lazy and spend about 14 hours a day eating for 10-20kg (20-40lb) bamboos because of the low nutritional value of bamboos. That's why visiting at a proper time during the day is important. Mornings are the best while they are having breakfasts.

4. Giant pandas are good at sports though they don't look like so.

Giant pandas like climbing trees and swimming. Wild pandas can climb up as high as 20 meters.

5. Female giant pandas ovulate only once a year.

Female giant pandas ovulate only once a year with a fertile period of up to 3 days while male pandas usually do not make their move due to their little interest in sex, which is why the number of giant pandas cannot increase significantly.

6. New born panda babies are very tiny pink ones without black and white furs.

The smallest weighs only 51g while the average weight is 120g and they gradually grow white and black furs after 2-3 weeks.

7. Giant pandas defecate more than 40 times a day.

Stunning but true as they need enough nutrition from bamboos they eat yet they don't digest much.

8. The average life span of giant pandas in the wild is 20 years.

A 20-year old panda is a senior one and the oldest giant panda in captivity known so far reached 30-year old, equal to a 100 years old human being.

9. Giant pandas are the most expensive animals to keep in the world.

The cost of breeding a panda is about 5 times more than breeding of an elephant, making it the most expensive animal to keep.

10. The giant panda is chosen as the symbol of World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

This is said to be because of its adorable appearance and more interestingly, because of its only two colors of white and black that saves printing costs.

11. Giant pandas don't hibernate.

Giant pandas cannot store enough fat eating bamboo for them to live through cold winters which means you can see giant pandas in any season you come! August to October is their breeding season and offers a bigger chance for you to see the pink new borns.

12. Giant pandas have been living on earth for at least 8 million years.

Though they are endangered animals and one of the rarest species in the world, they have fought their hardest to survive on earth.