Giant Panda

The giant panda is a stocky bear with a round head, short tail, and unmistakable black-and-white pattern. Its limbs, shoulders, ears, and eye patches are black, while most of the body is white. Powerful jaws, broad ridged molars, and enlarged jaw-muscle attachments help process tough bamboo. A modified wrist bone covered by a fleshy pad forms the opposable "false thumb" used to grasp and manipulate stems. (Animal Diversity Web)

Giant pandas inhabit bamboo-rich montane, mixed-conifer, and broadleaf forests in Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi, generally between 1,200 and 3,900 m. They are chiefly solitary and spend ten to twelve hours daily feeding because bamboo supplies relatively little usable nutrition. More than 99 percent of the diet is bamboo, although fruit and occasional small animals may also be eaten. Females produce one to three cubs following delayed implantation and a variable gestation. (Animal Diversity Web)