The panda bear Ailuropoda melanoleuca is a large animal, with long and dense fur, thanks to this it easily supports the winter conditions of its habitat.
The giant panda inhabits the southwest of China in the Sierras of Minshan, Qinling, Qionlai, Liangshan, Daxiangling and Xiaoxiangling, at altitudes ranging between 1,500 and 3,000 meters. These mountains covered by humid forest of conifers is the ideal habitat for the growth of bamboo, the main food of the panda, although it also feeds on fruits, small mammals, fish and insects.
The pandas are one of the most complicated species to reproduce in captivity, for this reason - in addition to the destruction of their habitat - they were in danger of extinction, until last September 4, 2016, when the international organization for the protection of species reported that the emblematic black and white bear was out of danger of disappearing.
Surely you have wondered why it is so difficult to reproduce the pandas or if they are born black and white and that is why we share the life cycle of one of the most adorable creatures.
Birth - 0 to 4 months
The panda baby is born blind, weighing around 100 grams. His eyes do not open until he is six or eight weeks old and he does not move until he is nine months old.
The puppy has a high risk of death in the wild, for being small and helpless, therefore, the baby bear's cradle is in a mother's leg and after the birth it does not leave for several days of hiding.
The puppies are left in the burrow only when the mother goes out to feed, about four hours a day.
At birth, the panda is white with thin gray fur, and with the passage of time, it becomes thicker and turns black and white to meet the first month.
Infant stage - 4 to 24 months
By the fourth month the panda begins to run a little and around six months begins to eat bamboo, and the end of breastfeeding is given at nine months.
The puppies live with their mother between a year and a half and two years.
Young adults - 1.5 / 2 years
During the next three years of life, the panda is free in its territory, looking for the best areas to feed and rest, preparing for when he is sexually mature and ready to procreate.
The males go beyond their own territory, abandon their mother and when they meet another group of young adult pandas, it is common for them to play and eat together.
The females generally stay in the same territory as their mother.
Maturity / Adults- 4 to 6 years
The panda has fully developed in four years and weighs up to 150 kilograms.
Reproduction
The males mature sexually at six years old (the slower pandas wild bears).
The panda females reach sexual maturity in about four years and mate every two or three since they will not if they are taking care of a baby.
The giant panda is fertile only for two or three days a year, sometimes in the spring (March-May) and will be pregnant for three to five months and will usually give birth at the end of summer, in the month of August.
She can contain the birth until the environmental conditions are optimal for survival. Puppies are born in hollow trees or hidden burrows around branches and dry grass.
Panda bears only raise a puppy, even if the mother gives birth to two or more bears, chooses to take care of one and abandon the others.
The growth of the female giant panda lasts about ten years, so she only has between four and six puppies during her life.
This being a low birth rate with a high vulnerability for puppies.
Half of the wild panda puppies die before reaching maturity.
It is estimated that the panda in captivity lives up to 38 years, with the average life expectancy of 20 years, although it is not known precisely how much a panda lives in its natural habitat.